Leave The Pieces
by kate657
Summary: Haley James returns home fresh from tour with best friend Chris Keller and reunites with long-time gal pal Peyton Sawyer who introduces her to Nathan Lee, her ex-boyfriend's half-brother she never knew he had.
1. Chapter 1

Title: **Leave The Pieces**  
Author: Katy  
Rating: T  
Disclaimer: All characters from _One Tree Hill_ are property of Mark Schwahn and those at Tollin/Robbins Productions and Warner Bros. Television Production Inc. All stories, original plotlines and characters are property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.  
Primary pairing: Nathan/Haley  
Summary: Inspired by Episode 220 _Lifetime Piling Up_.

* * *

**Prologue**

_The past_

Charleston, South Carolina

16-year-old Nathan sat in his room of his house in Charleston and looked around. He had spent most of his life in this town. It was home to him despite the fact that he had not been born here or even started out his life here. He had started his life in Tree Hill but for some unknown reason his mother had packed their things up and moved them to this town.

It wasn't until he was twelve that his mother had finally told him the reason for leaving. She told him that his father lived in the same town and that he had a family. Nathan was caught off guard with this information. It had been the first time that his mother had talked about his father. For years she had refused to let him know who he was and then she told him in one sentence. _"Dan Scott lives in Tree Hill with his wife and son_," is what she said.

The words rolled off her tongue as if they meant nothing. She then told him the whole sordid history and Nathan had realized that his mother made the right decision. He sure as hell didn't want to grow up in the same town with the father that didn't want him and the son that had the life that Nathan would have had.

Nathan had not given much thought to why they had moved away. He didn't really care. It wasn't as if he had had much in Tree Hill. He didn't. His mother's family all lived in Charleston. The only person he might've regretted leaving was her but they had only just met and Nathan was still at that age where he thought girls were repulsive. So he hadn't given it a second thought. Sure they had been friends right off the bat but he wasn't going to feel guilty for leaving a girl behind.

This time was different. He didn't want to leave his friends, his school, his team or his girlfriend, Annika Derevko. The young, Russian girl he had met a few months earlier. He had been hypnotized the minute he had seen her and it wasn't long before they started dating. They had now been going steady for eight months and he had to leave because his mom had had a change of heart and wanted to move back to Tree Hill. So he had to find a way to tell Annika without breaking her heart. It was mission impossible and he knew it.

_**Meanwhile**_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"What exactly are you saying, Haley?" Lucas Scott asked his girlfriend.

"Chris' manager said that she liked my voice. She thinks I can hit it big and asked me if I would consider going on the tour," Haley replied. Lucas laughed.

"You told her no, right?" he asked.

"I said that I would think about it," Haley replied.

"Haley, you're sixteen years old and sure, you've got a nice voice, but you're not that good," he said. Haley paled.

"What?" she asked. Lucas' face softened at the hurt in her voice. He came over to the couch and grabbed one of her hands and put it between his.

"Look, I love you and I think the world of you. I didn't want to hurt your feelings by telling you that you weren't that talented," he said. Her eyes narrowed and she pulled her hands out of his.

"So you lied to me?" she asked accusingly.

"I was trying to spare your feelings. If I had known that some idiot would have disillusioned you into thinking that you could go on tour because you were talented when really he just probably thinks you look good, I never would've lied to you," Lucas said.

"Raquelle is a woman, Lucas and she is not that kind of person. But just for the sake of arguing, let's say that you're right and that I'm not that good. It's not enough for _you_ to tell me that. I need to know that and this is my shot," she replied.

"For what?" he asked.

"This is my shot to see if I really am good enough to be a professional singer or if nights at TRIC or local talent shows are all that I get," Haley said.

"If you go, we're finished," Lucas said.

"You're giving me an ultimatum? Lucas, that's not fair," she exclaimed.

"Fair or not, it's what I'm doing," he said roughly.

"Fine," she said, getting up and walking out of his house.

**Chapter 1**

_The present_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

Nathan Lee walked into Tree Hill High and leaned against the locker beside his best friend's. Peyton shut her locker door and swung the lock back onto it. She turned and jumped when she saw him. Her hand went to her heart and Nathan laughed at her. She then grabbed her purse and let him have it.

Nathan held his shoulder after she hit him three times. "Damn it, Peyton! What are you trying to do, cause permanent damage so I can't play anymore?" he asked.

"You deserve it, Dumb Ass. You know I hate it when you sneak up on me," she retorted, putting her purse onto her shoulder.

"Yeah, I do," he said. Her eyes were narrowed into slits as she glared at him and he bit his tongue to stop himself from laughing.

Then Lucas Scott walked down the hall and laughed as he saw the two. "Aww. The perfect couple: The reject and the loser," he drawled as he looked from Nathan, dubbed "the reject", and Peyton, "the loser".

"They are very adorable, aren't they?" Brooke commented as she walked up beside Lucas. All of a sudden, Peyton started choking.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked looking at her in concern.

"No," she replied shaking her head, "I can't breathe. Someone sprayed a little too much skank on this morning." He looked at her in confusion and she looked at Brooke in response. Nathan cracked up.

"Ha," Brooke said sarcastically. "That was funny. Does 'Just for Laughs' know about you?"

"I don't know. Does 'Playboy' know about you?" Peyton shot back. Brooke's sardonic smile disappeared and her eyes blazed.

"As much as I'd love to keep this up, _I _actually have a life," she said and turned to Lucas. "I was wondering if you had plans for tonight."

"I'm sure he does. He has to spend some quality time with his bruised ego. It must be tough facing the fact that his 'reject' brother is the new point guard," Nathan said, smirking at the look of anger that came over Lucas' face.

"I thought you were the point guard," Brooke said.

"He was but now I am," Nathan answered for Lucas.

"Only because Whitey feels sorry for you," Lucas said.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself, man," Nathan said. He turned to Peyton figuring she would be smiling so that they could leave but instead she was frozen in place and her gaze was elsewhere. He followed it and it was locked on a girl heading down the hall.

"Is that Haley?" Peyton asked. Nathan was lost but looked at Lucas and Brooke as they looked in the direction of the girl walking down the hall.

Haley shook with nervousness as she headed down the hall of her school. People were staring at her. Their eyes were full of shock and some of the girls were shooting her death glares. "I knew this was a bad idea," she said.

A reassuring arm came around her shoulder and squeezed her. "No, it wasn't. You have every right to be here," Chris Keller said. Haley looked up at her best friend and smiled gratefully.

"We both do," she said, noticing the flicker of insecurity in his eyes.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Here's the second chapter. I hope you like it and I think you really will. Leave some words. Enjoy_** Katy : )

**Chapter 2**

_The past..._

Tree Hill, North Carolina

5-year-old Nathan Lee sat in the sandbox at the park in his neighbourhood. He was building a sand castle using the buckets his mom had gotten him over the weekend. He put more sand in his shovel and dumped it into the bucket.

He then flipped the bucket over and patted on the bottom of it a few times. He gently lifted it up and there was a perfect tower for his castle. He made a few etchings with the edge of his shovel and smiled triumphantly as he observed his creation.

"You call that a sand castle?" An unfamiliar voice asked. He looked up and frowned at the girl before him. "There isn't even a moat."

"A what?" he asked. She rolled her eyes as she knelt down beside him.

"A moat. It's like a little water-filled ditch that surrounds the castle," she replied. She reached out one of her skinny arms and started digging a long hole around the castle Nathan had built.

"Where are we going to get the water from?" he asked, giving her a questioning look. The girl shrugged and then started to look around.

"There's a stream on the other side of the field," she said, pointing to the open field behind them, "We could fill your bucket with some water and fill the hole."

They got up and Nathan grabbed his bucket. They ran quickly and she surprisingly was able to keep up with him. They got the water and returned.

The girl took the bucket from him and gently poured water into the hole. When she was done, she poured the rest of it onto the grass beside the sand box and handed it back to him. Then, looked over at what they had done and smiled.

"Now _that_ is a proper castle," she said proudly. He rolled his eyes but smiled appreciatively at her.

"Thanks for your help, uh?" he stopped when he realized he didn't even know her name. She smirked and held out her hand.

"I'm Haley," she said. Nathan took her hand, closed his over hers and gave it a firm shake.

"Nathan," he said. Haley nodded and looked toward the street.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Nathan, but I have to get home otherwise my dad will start scouring the neighbourhood with his shotgun and trust me when I say you don't want to be on the end of the barrel of his gun," she said. Nathan laughed.

"Bye, Haley," he said and she sprinted towards the street.

_

* * *

_

_The present _

Tree Hill North Carolina

"Yeah, that's her alright," Lucas said grudgingly. Nathan looked at his half brother curiously. That tone was usually reserved for him. He wondered what about this Haley person could make Lucas talk about her like that.

"In all her glory," Brooke drawled. Peyton shot Brooke a death glare.

"Shut up!" she snapped.

"Excuse me?" Brooke asked as she turned her head to meet Peyton with an equally disturbing glare.

"You heard me, you whore. You don't know Haley so don't about her as if you do. You're just jealous of what she represents," Peyton exploded.

"What does she represents?" Brooke asked.

"Everything you'll never be," Peyton replied, casting a subtle glance in Lucas' direction, "no matter how hard you try."

Nathan eyed Haley carefully. She was petite with shining light brown hair with highlights that sparkled when the light hit them and mesmerizing hazel eyes. Those eyes; they seemed oddly familiar to him and he did not have the slightest clue why. Haley came within a few feet of them with some guy's arm around her shoulders.

"Hi," she said lightly. Peyton launched herself forward and hugged Haley.

"Hey, Hales!" she exclaimed and then pulled away. She examined her friend. "Wow, you're hot." Haley chuckled.

"Um, thanks. I have to admit that of all the greetings I thought I would get, that one never crossed my mind," she said and giggled.

"Hi, Haley," Lucas said roughly. Haley's face changed as she looked at Lucas. At first it was soft and welcoming. Now it was cold and aloof.

"Luke," she returned in a snide tone. Her gaze shifted to Nathan and smiled at him.

"I don't know you," she said uncertainly. He smiled.

"No, you don't," he confirmed. Peyton laughed and pulled Nathan forward.

"Hales, this is Nathan Lee. He moved here earlier this year," Peyton said. Haley nodded. "Nate, this is my oldest friend, Haley James. I told you about her. I'm sure I did."

"Oh, you did, did you?" Haley asked, eyeing Peyton suspiciously. Then, she looked at Nathan. "Whatever she said about me is not true. I was a good friend and I left to go on tour, not because I was evading the law."

Nathan laughed lightly while Peyton broke out into hysterics. "What are you doing here? I thought the tour didn't end until January," she asked.

"It ended early because Haley here couldn't stand to be away from this place. I called her crazy," the guy behind her replied. Haley shot him an annoyed glare.

"Shut up, Chris. This is my best friend slash tour mate, Chris Keller," Haley said to Nathan whose eyes widened in interest. He turned to Peyton and looked at her.

"So this is _the_ Chris Keller I've been hearing so much about?" he asked, smiling as Peyton turned crimson in embarrassment.

Chris looked at her curiously. "You've been talking about me?" he asked Peyton. Peyton rolled her eyes.

"I might've mentioned you a few times," she replied. Nathan scoffed and Chris smiled.

"Did you miss me that much, Curly?" Chris asked now grinning ear to ear. Peyton opened her mouth to deny it but sighed with frustration.

"Oh, what the hell," she breathed. She took a few steps forward and crushed her lips against his. A few seconds later, she pulled away and Chris was out of breath and she smiled at his reaction. "Yes, actually, I did."


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Just a little warning: this chapter jumps back and forth a lot. Leave some words. Enjoy** Katy_

**Chapter 3**

_The past_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"I'll see you later, James," 6-year-old Nathan said teasingly to his new friend, Haley, who just rolled her eyes.

"Don't call me that. It sounds like you're talking to another boy," Haley said.

"Well, it's not like I go around admitting that I'm friends with a cootie-filled girl," he said. Then he grinned from ear to ear at the look of astonishment that crossed her face.

She gave him a devilish grin as she grabbed his shovel, scooped up some sand and held it over his head threateningly. "You wouldn't dare," he said confidently. Haley's smile widened with mischief.

"You sure about that?" she asked. Nathan nodded and Haley tipped the shovel and the sand spilled over Nathan's head, getting into his hair and some even landing in his mouth as he let out a groan.

"You're going to pay for that," he said.

"Not today I'm not. Later, Nathan," she said as she headed home.

* * *

"Nathan, what happened?" Deb asked.

"It's ok. It's only sand," he said shrugging it off. Deb laughed and told him to go take a bath. When he came out, Deb sat him down and Nathan noticed for the first time that a lot of stuff was in boxes.

"Are we going on a trip?" he asked, his eyes filled with excitement.

"No, honey. We're moving," Deb said. Nathan's face fell.

"When?" he asked.

"Tomorrow morning. Uncle Cooper and I are finished packing and he's gone to get a moving van," Deb said to her son.

"B-but I can't just leave! I have to say goodbye to her!" Nathan whined.

"Her?" Deb repeated and looked at her small son with concern in her eyes. "Who are you talking about?" Nathan swallowed hard and looked away from his mom nervously.

"Nothing," he whispered.

_

* * *

_

_The present_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"I'm a little surprised," Haley announced as she sat in Peyton's room, fiddling with the blue nail polish in her hand. She had the toughest time painting her toe nails.

"At what?" Peyton asked.

"That you've been harbouring feelings for Chris for so long and I never noticed," Haley replied. Peyton smiled as she closed the bottle of midnight blue polish and looked at her studied her old friend.

"You were preoccupied with your own feelings," she said cryptically. Haley cringed.

"Don't remind me," she muttered in disgust.

"Are you telling me you finally agree with me?" Peyton asked. Haley looked around Peyton's room, admiring her sketches and avoiding looking in her friend's eyes. Her eyes rested on one in particular.

Peyton had always been a bit on the broody side and her artwork was definitely out there at times but most of the time, Haley could read between the lines, instantly reading the underlying message where most people couldn't. But this piece of artwork was pretty much obvious to anyone who really knew her.

It was a picture of an ordinary stop light at first glance. Most people would figure that she had three speeds or something but when you looked at it closely, you'd realized all three circles were coloured in red. Below it, in what appeared to be reminiscent of sidewalk chalk, Peyton had scribbled the caption "People Always Leave".

Haley gave a slight nod at her friend's question and as she looked at the other sketches she swallowed the lump of sadness and regret in her throat. "Luke wasn't who I thought he was," she said sadly.

"Well, he's exactly who _I_ said he is and more," Peyton said.

"I know; you were right about him and I should have listened to you, but-" Haley said wistfully.

"-you cared about him and it's not easy to turn off those kind of feelings. I know, Haley. Of all people, I know what you mean by that," Peyton said. Haley stared back at her friend and nodded at a distant memory.

_

* * *

The past_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"I just don't understand what made him lie to me like that. Caring about me is one thing but telling me that I was talented when he really didn't think so was just cruel," Haley said.

"He's Lucas Scott, Hales. What did you expect?" Peyton asked, shooting her a confused glance.

"I just thought he was different but he's even more of an ass than you or anyone else said he was," Haley said.

"Well, I'm just glad that you've finally opened your eyes or taken off the blinders and see him for who he really is," Peyton said, chuckling softly. She had warned her friend for months that Lucas would end up hurting her but Haley had never listened.

"So, how are things with Jake?" Haley asked, desperately wanting to change the focus of the conversation off of her. Peyton frowned.

"Started and stopped," she said with a careless shrug. Haley's eyes widened.

"What happened?" Haley asked.

"I caught the bastard cheating," Peyton said.

"What, who, when and where?" Haley asked causing a dry laugh to escape from Peyton's lips.

"Let's see. I saw him in the library last, uh, Wednesday. That takes care of when and where. He had his tongue rammed down Brooke Ho Davis' mouth while they were mating. And there's who and what for you," Peyton replied with her charming way of making everything seem like a little story.

"Brooke?" Haley asked in disbelief.

"Brooke," Peyton confirmed. Haley leaned back in shock.

"T-that's unbelievable. I mean, Jake doesn't really seem like her type and Jake acted like he only had eyes for you," Haley said. Peyton let out a scoff.

"Not so. Apparently, he has eyes for anything with female anatomy no matter how raunchy the girl- and I use that term loosely- may be," Peyton said.

"I'm so sorry, Pey," Haley said.

"Whatever. I'm so past over it," Peyton said.

_

* * *

The present_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"So how long exactly have you had feelings for Chris?" Haley asked.

"Oh, I've always liked him," Peyton confessed.

"Even when you were with Jake?" Haley asked.

"Hell, yes. Even before I knew who Jake was," Peyton said.

"Let me get this straight. You've had feelings for Keller since we were twelve?" Haley asked in disbelief. Peyton flashed a grin but it disappeared as soon as the front door of her house was slammed shut. Haley looked at Peyton.

"It's Nathan. He just got back from practice. Get ready for some heavy ranting," Peyton said rolling her eyes as she heard Nathan trudging up the steps. It had definitely been a bad day. He was stomping and that was never a good sign.

"Why would he need to rant?" Haley asked but before Peyton could answer, Nathan burst into the room.

"I am so pissed it's not even funny, Pey. It took everything in me not to kick that ass's ass," Nathan grumbled as he plopped down on her bed, oblivious to Haley's presence in the room. And Haley was might confused.

"What did big brother do today?" Peyton asked. Nathan exploded into a tale about how Lucas had turned the team against him and how they were still playing pranks on him.

"I've been part of the team for a while now. You'd think he'd let up by now but he hasn't. Everything he does is just a way to get a dig at me," Nathan finished.

"Why would Lucas want to get a dig at you?" Haley asked. Nathan's eyes darted to the new voice in the room.

"When did you get here?" Nathan asked, forgetting her question. Peyton and Haley cracked up and Nathan looked at them.

"Dude, she's been here the entire time," Peyton explained, erupting into a fit of laughter once again.

"I got here long before you did," Haley added.

"I don't know if he's threatened by me or he resents me but mostly I figure he does the things he does because he's a jerk," Nathan said.

"He has an interesting concept of 'brotherly love'," Peyton remarked.

"Brotherly love?" Haley asked in confusion. Nathan and Peyton gaped at her.

"You did know that Lucas has a half brother, right, Hales?" Peyton asked. Haley sucked in a breath as she shook her head.

"Luke never told me," Haley said.

"And he said that the two of you were close while you were dating. What kind of boyfriend forgets to mention he has a brother?" Peyton fumed.

"Boyfriend?" Nathan repeated as he gaped at Haley. Peyton looked at her two friends and smiled.

"Well, apparently, we have a lot of catching up to do, after all," Peyton said.


	4. Chapter 4

_**I wrote this chapter last night before I went to bed but was too tired to post it right away. It's just basically a filler chapter but I think it turned out well. Leave some words. Enjoy Katy**_

**Chapter 4**

"You used to date Lucas?" Nathan asked, enunciating the words as if he were talking to a three-year-old when really he was just trying to comprehend the meaning behind them. It seemed impossible that a girl like Haley could date Lucas.

"Yeah, I did for about a year and a half," Haley replied. Nathan chuckled but when Haley's eyebrows came together he realized she really wasn't kidding.

"You're serious?" he asked. Peyton whacked Nathan on the head with the bottle of nail polish in her hands.

"No, we thought we'd try to come up with the most ludicrous thing and see if you'd buy it. Of course we're serious. Do you really think I would _joke_ about Haley dating Lucas?" Peyton asked. Nathan instinctively rolled his eyes at Peyton. Then he turned his attention to Haley.

"I'm sorry. I just can't believe it. It seems so-" he started.

"-wrong?" Peyton guessed. Nathan cracked a smile.

"Unrealistic that someone like you would see something in Lucas," Nathan said.

"Someone like me?" Haley repeated. She let that hang in the air and then looked at Peyton questioningly. "What does that mean?"

"I think he means that you have a good head on your shoulders and, considering the type of person Lucas is, it seems illogical that you would date someone like him," Peyton said and looked at Nathan.

"That's what I meant," he said, pointing his index finger at Peyton. Then, he reached for a soda from his bag and opened it. He took a swig.

"Love is blind," Haley offered. Coke sprayed out of Nathan's mouth and nostrils.

"Ahem," Peyton said, taking a tissue and wiping her face and shoulders, "You're supposed to swallow that, Nate." Nathan was coughing.

"Are you okay?" Haley asked, looking at him.

"Yeah," he squeaked out in between coughs. After a few minutes, he was still coughing.

"Here," Haley said handing him some of her water, "drink this." Nathan was about to take a sip.

"Wait," Peyton said. He looked at her. She got off the bed and walked a few feet away. "I just want to be out of the range of fire." Haley laughed. Nathan handed the water back to her.

"Thanks. I'm sorry about that, Peyton. It went down the wrong tube," he explained.

"Uh-huh," Peyton said sceptically. Nathan ignored her.

"You loved Lucas?" Nathan asked struggling to get the words out cause it seemed so weird thinking anyone loved his brother. Haley started to nod but then shook her head. She sighed.

"I thought I did," she replied. Peyton clapped.

"That's my girl," Peyton chirped.

"What is your deal?" Nathan asked, looking at her.

"Peyton and Lucas never really saw eye-to-eye," Haley said with an amused smile as Peyton scoffed.

"That's putting it mildly," she remarked as she walked over and sat back down on the bed with them. "I hated him. Still do."

"That I can relate to," Nathan said.

"So you and Lucas are brothers?" Haley asked.

"_Half_-brothers," he corrected. Haley nodded understanding the distinction.

"I'm going to get us some ice cream," Peyton said.

"You and your ice cream, Peyton. Just make sure it's not mint. I hate that kind," Haley called after her.

"It's definitely going to be mint," Nathan said.

"I know but she'll bring some neapolitan for me," Haley said. Nathan smiled.

"And rocky road for me," he said.

"How did that work with you and Lucas, I mean?" Haley asked curiously.

"Lucas is three months older than I am. Dan got his mom pregnant after their senior year and he met my mom at orientation when he was a freshman in college. Within two months, my mom was pregnant and nine months later, I popped out," Nathan explained.

"So you're a Scott too?" Haley asked and looked at him.

"No. My last name is Lee," he said. Haley looked at him. "Dan and my mom never got married. Lee is her last name."

"So Dan abandoned you?" Haley asked.

"I guess," Nathan replied.

"You guess?" Haley asked in confusion.

"Well, in my opinion, it's kind of hard to abandon someone when you were never there to begin with," Nathan explained.

"And I thought he was a jerk for the way he treated me and Karen," Haley commented shaking her head.

"I don't think Karen really cares," Nathan said.

"How do you know Karen?" Haley asked.

"She's my mom's business partner," Nathan replied and then filled Haley in on the bar slash café his mom ran.

"That must be awkward," Haley said.

"Not really. I like Karen; she's nice," Nathan said.

"Yeah, she is. So what did you mean when you said she doesn't care?" Haley asked.

"Well, she's a little preoccupied with her extracurricular activities with Lucas and my uncle to care what Dan says or does," Nathan said not realizing that he had said too much. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened.

"Keith and Karen?" she asked in disbelief. That's when Nathan grimaced.

"Yeah, uh, don't say anything," Nathan said.

"I won't but how did you know?" Haley asked.

"I overheard Karen talking to someone on the phone in 'that' way. I thought it was Dan so I was disgusted and nauseous but then she said, 'I'll see you tonight, Keith' and I was just as shocked as you are now but still a little disgusted," Nathan explained.

"Unbelievable," Haley breathed as she leaned back and shook her head in astonishment. Then Peyton came into the room. She handed Haley a bowl of neapolitan ice cream and Nathan a bowl of rocky road and then opened the tub of mint ice cream she had in her other hand and dug in.

"You still eat from the tub?" Haley asked, wrinkling her nose in disapproval and at the smell.

"Why not? No one else likes it so it's not like anyone will get my germs or anything," Peyton said.

"I agree; that is weird," Nathan said, shaking his head at Peyton.

Peyton rolled her eyes as she put her spoon down in the tub and looked at them with a huge smile. "So, what'd I miss?"


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hey, guys! Wow. I am so inspired with this story. I like sat down and thought about what story I should work on after "Cross My Heart" and I looked at my list of current stories on another site and this one popped into my brain as I read it and I got an idea for another chapter. I feel like I should be on "The Price is Right" when deciding what stories to work on. Spin the wheel and wherever it lands, that's what I work on. The bright lights go off when I get an idea. Well, enough out of me. Leave me some words. Enjoy** :D Katy_

**Chapter 5**

Haley walked into her house after leaving Peyton's and frowned when she discovered that no one was home. It was hardly anything new to her since it had been this way ever since she started high school. She was actually used to it and that knowledge was a little upsetting to her and at the same time, a little amusing.

She shrugged the thoughts off and jumped when her cell phone rang. She inspected the number and realized she had no idea who it belonged to. She pressed the talk button. "Hello?" she said cautiously.

"Hi, Haley, it's mom," Lydia James said excitedly into the phone. Haley cringed as she realized her mother was drunk. She so did not want to talk to her right now. She sighed inwardly.

"You've reached Haley James. Leave a message," she said trying her best to remember her outgoing message. She pressed one of the keys and hoped that her mom was loaded so she would think that the tone sounded like the beep.

"It's about time you changed your message. Your old one, 'This is an answering machine so leave a message. As long as it's not lame' was annoying. You sound so condescending in it," Lydia started. Haley bit her lip to stop herself from giggling. That was actually the home phone's outgoing message.

"Anyway, I was just calling to let you know that we're not going to be home for another two weeks now. We got a call from your sister Gretchen so we're going to head over to Palm Springs to visit her and Brad for a week," Lydia said. Haley rolled her eyes at the mention of her newest brother-in-law.

Two of her three sisters were now married. The first one to take the plunge was the second oldest of the four girls, Natalie. She was an ADA in Colorado and married a defence attorney she had started dating during one of her cases in which he was the defendant's lawyer. It turned out that they had met prior in law school and had actually gone on a few dates back then but he moved away. Haley actually liked Lloyd very much. He was nice and very protective of Haley much like her other siblings.

Gretchen was the oldest of the girls and she had gotten married two months earlier while Haley had still been on tour and so she hadn't even been invited to the wedding. A week after the wedding, Gretchen and Brad had caught her backstage at one of her shows. The visit did not go well since Haley had not even been told of the nuptials so she had lost it when Gretchen said, "This is the love of my life and my husband, Brad…"

Then Brad, arrogant ass that he was, had come to her sister's defence and had the nerve to ridicule Haley for being so self-involved that she didn't even congratulate them. Haley had actually been stupid enough to apologize and congratulate them and then asked them if they enjoyed the show. Haley felt like slapping both of them after they informed her that they didn't come to it. They had just arrived as it had ended and waited for her. Then Brad had added insult to injury when he had said, "As if we would ever be caught dead at a concert like this anyways. This stuff qualifies as noise, not music." And her sister had then nodded in agreement.

Her other sister Taylor, who was four years older than Haley, was a "free spirit" as she had put it. "I go wherever the wind -or the next guy- takes me," she had explained once in a letter. But she was probably the sibling who held most of Haley's respect. While some might label her the bad seed of the family, Taylor lived her life despite what others said about her.

Their parents had held such high hopes that Taylor might've amounted to something while she was in college but Taylor had had other plans. She had always said that she was going to have fun while she was young and then get serious when she was done. And Haley respected her for that even though sometimes she found herself disappointed in most, if not all, of the choices that Taylor had made.

"And then we're going to pop in and see Damien," her mother continued. Damien was the youngest of Haley's four brothers. Her brothers were much simpler than her sisters. Damien was a firefighter married to a nurse practitioner named Celeste. He lived in Corona.

Jason was the third youngest and he lived in Arizona. He was a pilot and he was actually married to a stewardess.

Rob was the second oldest and he lived in Austin with his wife Marie. He was an oncologist and Marie was a first year resident who intended to pursue a career in neonatology.

The oldest of the four boys was Roger and he was a cop. He was married to a waitress named Angela. They all lived in Richmond.

All of her siblings had been out of the house before Haley had turned thirteen and with them, her parents disappeared for months on end. She had seen them about twice in the past two years. They would call her maybe once a week while they were away and when they were in Tree Hill, they would always be at parties using the "It's been months since we've seen our friends" excuse for the umpteenth time. And they would say this to her on her birthday of all days.

"Sorry we weren't there to welcome you back. We'll see you when we get home," Lydia finished and hung up. Haley scoffed at the idea. She shoved her phone back in her purse and set her purse down on the kitchen table.

"This is your house. It's my home," she said to the empty room. Then her home phone rang. She sighed and picked it up.

"Hello?" she said in a rough tone.

"Whoa. Somebody's cranky," a slightly sarcastic voice said. Haley smiled.

"Hey, Chris," she said, softening her voice.

"Now that's more like it. Hello to you too," he said.

"What's up?" she asked as she sat down.

"Well, I'm hanging out-" he started.

"-at Peyton's," Haley finished. There was a long pause followed by a dry laugh. Haley could practically see him rolling his eyes.

"At Peyton's," he confirmed. Haley's smile widened at the obvious annoyance in his voice. "And she just happened to mention that you were looking for an after-school job."

"Yes, I am," Haley said, nodding even though she knew he couldn't see her.

"And I just happen to know of a place that's looking. I applied but then I realized what the job entailed and you know as well as I do that Chris Keller doesn't do food service," he said.

"Keller," Haley complained. She could hear Peyton laughing. "You know I hate it when you do that."

"Right. Sorry," he said.

"What's the name of the place?" Haley asked.

"_Lee's Tree_. It's a café slash bar," he replied.

"Where is it?" she asked.

"The same street as the music place where I now work," Chris bragged. Haley rolled her eyes.

"Good for you," she said, hiding the jealousy in her voice. She would love to work at a music store.

"Why thank you, Hales. I'm sure you'll land the job at that café. The lady who owns it is actually very nice. I almost considered revising my 'no restaurants' rule just to work alongside her," he said.

"You're such a pervert," Haley said.

"Did I say one word about the way she looked?" he asked feigning offence.

"No, but the tone of your voice implies that you think she's hot. I can practically see you drooling," she said.

"I have a girlfriend," Chris reminded her.

"And since when has that ever stopped you?" Haley retorted.

"Since my girlfriend is Peyton Sawyer. I'd be a fool to cheat on her," Chris replied.

"Thanks for the info," Haley said.

"You're welcome," he said.

"Continue sucking face," Haley ordered. Chris laughed.

"As you wish," Chris said and the line went dead. Sometimes Haley picked the weirdest people as friends.

* * *

The next day, Haley walked into _Lee's Tree_ and looked for someone who might look like a manager. "You can sit down, you know?" a voice said. Haley looked around and her eyes found Nathan, sitting at the counter, smiling at her in amusement.

"Very funny," she said, as she came closer and sat down next to him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Looking for a job. And yourself?" Haley replied.

"Eating and visiting my mom," Nathan said. Haley looked at him quizzically. "She owns the place." She nodded in understanding.

"Uh, can you point her out to me?" Haley asked. He nodded and inclined his head to the blonde woman behind the register.

"Hey, mom, can you come here for a second?" Nathan called. She smirked at her son and nodded.

"What's up? Is it too cold or something?" Deb asked gesturing to his food.

"Not in the least. I wanted to introduce you to someone," he said.

"Ok," Deb said.

"This is Haley," Nathan said, pointing to Haley who smiled at the acknowledgement.

"It's nice to meet you," she said.

"You too," Haley said.

"She's here about the job opening," Nathan said. Deb's eyes brightened and she smiled at Haley.

"Do you have any experience?" Deb asked.

"I worked at a restaurant in town for a few months," Haley replied.

"What position?" Deb asked.

"Waitress slash hostess," Haley replied. Deb nodded.

"Were you fired?" she asked.

"No," Haley said.

"Then why'd you stop working there?" Deb asked.

"I left town for a few months and just came back. The place closed down on me," Haley explained.

"You're hired," Deb said. Haley's eyebrows shot up.

"Really?" she asked. Deb nodded.

"Can you start now?" Deb said.

"Yes," Haley replied beaming. On her break she started to chat with Nathan and Chris and Peyton came in.

"So you got the job, huh?" he asked in surprise.

"My mom hired her on the spot," Nathan answered for her. Haley laughed.

"That means she likes you," Peyton commented. Nathan nodded in agreement.

"I like her too," Haley said.

"So we all work across the street from each other now," Chris said.

"Yeah, isn't it great? Now you can bring my CDs to me on your break," Haley said.

"And you can deliver some food to me on yours," Chris shot back.

"Hmm," Haley said sarcastically.

"Hmm," Chris mimicked.

"Are they always like this?" Nathan asked.

"Worse," Peyton said. Nathan laughed. "I'm surprised the two of you didn't kill each other on that tour." Chris and Haley looked at each other and then Chris turned and fixed a glare at Peyton. Haley looked at Nathan.

"No, we actually got along then," Haley said.

"And you don't now?" Nathan asked.

"When they're working on their music, they get along swimmingly. Aside from music, fighting is what they do best together," Peyton said. They all cracked up. After they calmed down, Haley looked at Peyton.

"What?" she asked. Haley raised an eyebrow at her.

"Since when do you say 'swimmingly'?" Haley asked and they all started laughing again.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Another chapter for you. A lot of confrontation so I think you'll like it. Leave me some words. Enjoy** :D Katy_

Chapter 6

Haley chuckled at the piece of paper she held in her hands. She leaned back in the chair she was sitting in and shook her head. "What do you got there?" a voice in front of her asked. She raised her eyes and smiled at Nathan.

"Just a letter," Haley replied. Nathan nodded as he continued to wipe the counter with a dirty rag.

"Are you going to tell me the name of the author or do I have to guess?" Nathan asked shaking his head at the terrible job he was doing. Someone had spilled some ketchup and Nathan had been ordered to wipe it up. His mom had thrown him an old dish rag that was probably older than him to clean it with.

"Taylor James," she replied.

"Your cousin?" Nathan guessed.

"Sister," Haley corrected as she folded the paper back up and shoved it in her pocket. Nathan's eyes widened in surprise but Haley thought she could see a little bit of envy in the far corners of them.

"You have a sister?" he asked. Then he nodded and smiled. "That's cool." Haley rolled her eyes at him.

"I have _three_ sisters," Haley told him.

"Four girls? How did your parents survive?" Nathan asked. Haley narrowed her eyes.

"Ha," Haley said. He laughed at his joke. Chris came over and slammed a stack of CDs on the counter.

"Here you go, you pain," he said and fixed a glare in Haley's direction. Haley giggled as she took the CDs and put them in her backpack.

"That looks like ten CDs," Nathan commented. Chris laughed.

"I wish, Little Missy here has eighteen CDs," he whined. Haley rolled her eyes and she got up and rejoined Nathan behind the counter. She disappeared in the back and returned with a plate full of food and placed it front of Chris.

"For your troubles," she mocked. Chris' eyes widened and flashed a half smile.

"Eighteen CDs?" Nathan asked her. Haley shrugged.

"Is that a lot?" she asked. Nathan and Chris looked at each other and then looked at her.

"I'm not even going to bother," Chris said.

"I think it's a lot, yeah," Nathan replied.

"I like music," Haley said simply.

"You're a singer, right?" Nathan asked. Haley nodded.

"That explains it," he said.

"Some singer," Chris snorted. Haley glared at him.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"You have an excellent voice, that's true, but you haven't been singing much lately," Chris said.

"All right, passive-aggressive, what does _that_ mean?" Haley asked.

"I feel like I should be holding a whistle in my hands," Nathan joked as Peyton came in and sat down beside Chris. She shot Nathan a confused look and then saw the expression on Haley's face.

"Are they at it again?" Peyton asked.

"Just started," Nathan replied.

"It means that you should get your ass in the recording studio," Chris said. Haley rolled her eyes.

"Here we go," she said. Peyton chuckled.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"Oh, you'll see," Peyton replied in amusement.

"You need to record your music because you never know when some idiot with a guitar and harmonica will come along and steal one of your hits like Jay did to me," Chris said.

"Someone stole one of your songs?" Nathan asked.

"Yes. It was this little Indie punk. He can play all of three chords on a guitar and he-" Chris started.

"-had the nerve to call himself a musician," Haley finished, over dramatizing for effect.

"That's impressive," Nathan commented because she was right on the beat and knew exactly where to come in. Haley shrugged.

"Not really if you knew how many times I've had to listen to it," Haley said.

"They were on a tour bus for like a year and a half," Peyton chimed in and Nathan laughed.

"Please. As if you ever listen," Chris complained and turned his head to glare at her. Haley's eyes widened in disbelief and she matched him with a glare of her own.

"It's not as if you have a lot of interesting things to say," she teased.

"Nice," Peyton said, nodding in approval.

"I try," Haley said.

"Funny," Chris said, looking at both girls.

"I got a letter from Tay," Haley announced. Peyton and Chris nodded.

"And where is that big sis these days?" Chris asked.

"She just got back from Mexico," Haley replied.

"I asked where she was, not where she's been," Chris said.

"I think she mentioned something about heading to Arizona to visit Jason," Haley said.

"Fifty bucks says she's gone there to squeeze some money out of him," Chris said to which Haley rolled her eyes.

"You're probably right about that. For some reason, he can't say no to her," Haley said.

"That brother of yours was always a little messed up," Peyton said.

"Very funny. You know that he and Taylor are close," Haley said.

"Wait. You also have a brother?" Nathan asked. The three old friends laughed at Nathan.

"He just found out that my parents had four girls," Haley said.

"And you think that's a lot?" Chris asked.

"Five kids? Hell yeah," Nathan replied.

"Oh, just wait, Nate. You're going to flip your lid," Peyton said.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Tell him, Hales," Chris said.

"I also have four brothers," Haley said. Nathan dropped the ketchup-soaked rag on the floor and his jaw dropped.

"Eight kids?" Nathan asked. Haley nodded. "Your poor mother."

A muscle in Haley's face twitched and Nathan was about to call her on it but then the door swung open. Both Haley's and Nathan's eyes narrowed at Lucas Scott as he walked in with Brooke on his arm.

"Whoa, little brother," Lucas said as he looked at his brother and how close he was to Haley. "Moving in on my leftovers, huh?"

"Luke," Haley started.

"Brooke has been with so many guys, I bet you have a hard time telling exactly whose leftovers you're taking," Peyton said. Brooke scowled at Peyton.

"Have you got a problem?" she asked.

"I don't know what you mean," Peyton replied.

"It's just that every time I come around, you insult me one way or the other," Brooke said.

"Well, I don't know how to explain it. Every time I see you, I feel compelled to be mean. It's like a knee-jerk reaction," Peyton offered.

"I think you're just bitter or jealous. Either way, you're still pathetic," Brooke said.

"What?" Peyton asked in an ominous tone.

"Forget it," Brooke said, shrugging.

"You use that as your response to everything, don't you, Brooke?" Haley asked. Her voice was edged with annoyance. She had seen Brooke torment Peyton too many times just since she'd come back.

"You have no right to judge her," Lucas said. Haley laughed.

"I'm not judging her," Haley said.

"Yes you are. Sometimes you do it without even realizing it. One could hardly blame you. It's hard to fight your default setting," Lucas said.

"Look who's talking," Haley said.

"What does that mean?" Lucas asked.

"I think it was her polite way of telling you that you're an ass," Nathan said. That fight went on and Chris turned his attention back to his girlfriend and her arch nemesis.

"What?" Brooke asked.

"Forget everything and ignore everything," Peyton said, looking at Lucas who was staring at Haley and Nathan.

"I don't ignore. That," she said, looking at the former couple, "has absolutely nothing to do with me."

"Oh, right. Your arrangement. Actually giving a damn is against the rules," Peyton mocked.

"Emotions are too messy," Brooke explained.

"So is fighting them," Chris said. Peyton's smile widened at him. Brooke gulped.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said.

"The sad thing is that we know that, Brooke," Peyton said.

"You're a bitch," Brooke said.

"It takes one to know one," Peyton shot back childishly.

"Girls," Chris said. Both of them turned to look at him. "Don't you think this is a little tedious?"

"Honey?" Peyton said.

"Yeah?" Chris asked, looking at her. Peyton cupped his cheek and smiled.

"Shut up," she said. Chris actually laughed.

"And if you are so sure that I am a waste of space, why do you go out of your way to be an ass to me?" Haley screeched.

"Because you wounded his pride," Nathan replied for him.

"Shut up, Lee. You have no idea what you're talking about," Lucas said.

"I think I do. You couldn't handle the fact that your girlfriend might actually find something outside of you, so you told her she sucked and gave her an ultimatum convinced that she had no self-esteem and cared more about you than her dream," Nathan said. Lucas clenched his jaw.

"You must have been so humiliated when she didn't pick you. I wish I had been there to see your face fall when she walked away," he continued.

"Well, I hate to disappoint you but my face didn't fall. Haley made a choice and stuck to it. I moved on," Lucas said, looking at Brooke.

"If you've moved on, then piss off!" Haley exclaimed. Lucas looked at her in confusion.

"What?" he asked.

"Leave me alone. Stop looking at me, stop insulting me. Don't pay me any attention at all. You can rest easy, Luke, because I didn't come back for you," Haley said.

"Good," Lucas said. He looked at Nathan and just shook his head. "Come on, Brooke. This place is lame. Let's go somewhere else."

"Happy to, broody," she said, accepting his arm as they walked out together.

"Thank God. It's about time," Peyton breathed. "The GT were starting to get on my nerves."

"GT?" Haley and Chris repeated simultaneously.

"Peyton has dubbed Lucas and Brooke 'The Gruesome Twosome," Nathan explained brokenly. He had never understood why. Haley burst out laughing.

"I get it," Haley said.

"You do?" Chris asked.

"Do you mind sharing?" Nathan asked.

"They're our very own Caleb Nichol and Julie Cooper," Haley replied.


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Here's a new chapter finally. It took me a while to finish it and I hope you like it. Leave me some words. Enjoy** :D Katy_

**Chapter 7**

_The past_

Charleston, South Carolina

"So you're leaving?" Annika Derevko asked as she leaned against the doorway of his bedroom.

"Yes," he replied.

"Leaving me?" she asked.

"I'm leaving everyone, Annika," he corrected.

"I was asking if you were breaking up with me, Nathan," Annika said. He could hear the frustration in her voice. He was sitting on his bed and he raised his eyes to her for the first time. He shrugged.

"I don't see how it would work out. We would hardly see each other. We would become a holiday couple and I don't know about you but I think we both deserve better than that," Nathan said.

Annika straightened herself and walked over to him. She looked down at him for a second and then ruffled his hair with her hand. That got a smile out of him and she laughed. "I'll miss you but I think you're right," she said and looked away so he wouldn't see the tears welling in her eyes. Apparently he knew her too well because he pulled her down beside him.

"Figures I have to be right the one time I want to be wrong," he said. Annika laughed and kissed him on the cheek.

"Just don't lose touch," she said and got up.

"I won't," he said.

"Bye, Nathan. I hope you find what you're looking for in Tree Hill," she said.

"I don't even know what I'm looking for. How am I supposed to find it?" he asked. Her smile widened.

"That's the thing. We usually find the best things when we're not looking for them," she replied and left.

_**Meanwhile**_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"What do you mean, you're not coming?" Haley James exclaimed into her cell phone.

"I'm sorry, honey. Really, I am but we've got a party to go to that we can't get out of," Jimmy James replied.

"But you promised you'd see my show," she reminded him.

"I know that, Haley-Bop and I promise you that we will get around to it but we can't right now," he said. The line went dead.

"Unbelievable!" she exclaimed as she threw the phone across the room.

"Ow!" a voice said followed by a muffled groan. The figure in the bed across the room from her rolled over and glared at her. "What was that for?"

"Sorry, Chris," she said. He sat up and moved in the middle of his bed and leaned against the wall. Then he looked at her.

"I'm guessing your parents cancelled again," he said. Haley blinked and tears trickled down her face.

"Yeah," she said. He sighed, got up and sat down beside her. He put a blanket around her shoulder and hugged her and she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Sorry but at least you have me," he said. Haley nodded.

"They didn't even wish me a happy birthday. I guess they forgot _again_," she said bitterly as she began to wipe her face.

"Ouch," he said.

"Yeah," Haley commented.

"Hey, Hales?" Chris asked a few seconds later.

"Yeah?" she said as she looked up at his face. He smiled down at her.

"Happy birthday," he said. Haley cracked up and hugged him.

"Thanks," she said.

_

* * *

The present_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"So how are you doing, Nate?" Peyton asked as she came into the café.

"She remembers my name. I'm flattered," Nathan said, smiling at her from behind the counter.

"What?" Peyton asked.

"I haven't seen you all week, Pey. Where have you been?" Nathan asked. Peyton opened her mouth to answer but Nathan shook his head. He smiled as he said, "As if I really need to ask. I know that you've been spending all your time at Chris'."

"Very funny, smart ass," Peyton said.

"So what brings you here?" he asked.

"Chris is busy," Peyton replied.

"Gee, thanks," Nathan said. Peyton laughed.

"Sorry. That came out the wrong way. Chris had some free recording time and he needed some female vocals so he asked Haley to help him out and they're both at the recording studio," Peyton replied.

"That explains why Haley didn't show up for work today," Nathan muttered quietly.

"What?" Peyton asked, raising her eyebrows at him curiously.

"Nothing," he said and turned his attention to the register again.

"I heard what you said, Nathan. I just can't believe my ears," Peyton said.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Mr. Basketball actually has a crush!" Peyton exclaimed excitedly.

"I'm not just about basketball and I don't have a crush," Nathan replied firmly. Peyton rolled her eyes.

"Oh, yeah, you do," she said.

"No, I don't," Nathan insisted.

"Nathan, I know you. You are harbouring deep feelings for our Haley," Peyton said.

"Don't be so dramatic. I couldn't possibly have deep feelings for someone I don't even know," Nathan said.

"Fine but you definitely like her," Peyton said.

"Yes, I do," Nathan said.

"You're actually admitting it?" Peyton asked.

"Haley is turning out to be a good friend," Nathan said. Peyton deflated.

"That's all she is to you?" she asked in disappointment.

"Peyton, I don't know anything about her except that she used to go out with my half-brother and that she apparently sings well," Nathan said.

"First of all, the thing with Luke was complicated. He was a good guy when he was with her or at least as good as he can be which isn't a dramatic difference really but that's not the point," Peyton said.

"And what is the point?" Nathan asked.

"The point is that Haley was very naïve back then. She managed to find the good in everyone and gave everyone the benefit of the doubt even when she shouldn't have," Peyton replied.

"You're talking about Lucas, right?" Nathan asked. Peyton was about to answer but then her eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean she apparently sings well?" she said.

"Everyone says she has an amazing voice," Nathan said.

"She does," Peyton said.

"But I've never heard her sing. Not once," he said.

"Really? Sometimes she never shuts up," Peyton replied. Nathan laughed.

"If you say so," Nathan said skeptically. Peyton rolled her eyes.

"That's it," she said. Then she turned her head to look for his mom. "Ms. Lee, can I steal Nathan away for a while?"

"Uh, I guess but he only has an hour left on the clock. Can't it wait until then?" Deb replied.

"No. By then, it will be too late," Peyton replied.

* * *

"Thanks for coming, Haley, but I have a confession to make," Chris said.

"What is it?" Haley asked. Nathan and Peyton walked into the studio and looked at them.

"What's going on?" Nathan asked.

"Why aren't you two singing?" Peyton asked.

"I was wondering the same thing," Haley replied, looking at Chris who smirked.

"I don't need you to help me lay down a track," he admitted.

"Then what are we doing here?" she asked.

"We're here for you," Chris replied.

"Uh-oh. Chris, I warned you about this," Peyton said. Haley looked at Peyton curiously and then looked back at Chris.

"You have ten seconds to explain yourself and it had better be good because I gave up a shift for this," Haley said, folding her arms across her chest. Chris gulped.

"Well, my best buddy," he began. Haley narrowed her eyes at him and he grimaced. "I noticed you haven't done much recording since the tour and I think you should."

"I don't have any songs to record," she said.

"Sure you do," he said.

"No, I don't," she said.

"What about that one you wrote about your parents? I thought it was pretty good," Chris said. Haley's head snapped up.

"I never showed that one to you," she said.

"I stumbled upon it one night on the bus," Chris admitted. Her eyes widened and she pursed her lips together before she spoke again to let him know that she was mad.

"What were you doing reading my songs?" Haley asked accusingly.

"You've read mine," he reminded her.

"Because you asked me to!" Haley shot back.

"Details, Haley," Chris said. Haley glared at him and he smiled. "The point is that _Not Good Enough_ has a lot of potential. You should record it and what do you know? We happen to have some free recording time and we happen to be in a recording studio!" Chris said. Haley sighed.

"Fine but don't think that you're off the hook for snooping through my journal," Haley said as she headed into the booth and grabbed her guitar from its case.

He pushed the speaker button and said, "I can live with that."

Haley took her guitar pick off of the chain around her neck and started strumming. After about four bars, she started to sing.

"Why do I try so hard to please you?

_Why do I always forgive and forget?_

_You'd think someone who's supposed to be smart_

_Would be smart enough to understand_

_That every good grade I get_

_It's not good enough_

_Every award I win_

_It's not good enough_

_I could even discover the cure for cancer _

_And still it's not good enough_

_No matter what I do_

_It's not good enough_

_Because nothing is ever good enough_

_For you_

_I'm always pretending that it is okay_

_Sometimes I wonder why I bother to play nice_

_When we all know that if I cut off all ties to you_

_You probably wouldn't even care_

_But even if I don't stop trying_

_That doesn't mean I don't see_

_That every good grade I get_

_It's not good enough_

_Every award I win_

_It's not good enough_

_I could even discover the cure for cancer_

_And still it's not good enough_

_No matter what I do_

_It's not good enough_

_Because nothing is ever good enough _

_For you_

_And just so you know_

_I'm done trying to please you_

_I'm tired of being hurt_

_And I've just realize something _

_Maybe I'm too good for you._"

"That was amazing, Haley," Chris said.

"Thanks but you're still dead," Haley replied.

"Haley," Peyton said.

"Yeah, Peyton?" Haley asked.

"Could you sing one song for me?" she asked.

"Sure. Just as long as it isn't-" Haley started.

"Great. Chris, get in there and start playing the piano part to _There's Us_," Peyton said and pushed Chris away from the controls.

"First of all, I don't play the piano part. She does. I play the guitar part. Second of all, I don't think Haley wants to sing that song," Chris said.

"I don't," Haley said, smiling.

"What is it?" Nathan asked. Haley's laughter came through the speaker.

"Well, Peyton here is a big fan of that show _Instant Star_ with Alexz Johnson who just happens to be one of her favourite pop singers," Haley started.

"I didn't think you liked pop," Nathan said.

"I normally don't but Alexz is different than the other packaged singers," Peyton replied.

"Anyways, she bought the sheet music to the second season's songs but didn't understand how to play it at all on guitar or piano," Chris said.

"That's understandable considering she can't play any instrument," Nathan said.

"Shut up," Peyton said.

"But she showed it to me and asked me to play it for her so I did. Then I mistakenly started to sing along to it," Haley started.

"And she was amazing!" Peyton exclaimed.

"And ever since then, she's been obsessed with that one song," Chris said.

"We actually put it into our set for the tour and when she heard the opening chords, she jumped up and applauded before the song was over," Haley said.

"Did you really?" Nathan asked, laughing.

"I was excited," Peyton explained.

"You're hilarious, babe," Chris said.

"Nice try. Changing the subject to distract me. Get in there," Peyton ordered. When Chris joined Haley in the booth, Peyton released the speaker button, turned to Nathan and said, "Haley likes it too. She relates to it in a way."

"How?" Nathan asked.

"You'll know once you hear it," Peyton said. She turned her attention back to Chris and Haley. Chris was sitting where Haley had been but with his own guitar. Haley was sitting in front of the piano and started playing. About two bars later, Chris started strumming his guitar.

"_There's me looking down at my shoes_

_The one smiling like the sun_

_That's you_

_What were you thinking?_

What was the song inside your head

_There's us going on about a band_

_Working out how we'd play our hands_

_I lay there dreaming _

_Later, all alone in my bed_

_If I was stupid_

_Maybe careless_

_So were you_

_Not everything is supposed to come true_

_Some words are best unsaid_

_Some love is not really love at all_

_I'll keep everything I shared with you_

_And that's enough_

_There's us_

_Freeze-frame_

_I'm not about to cry_

_It's too late for us to change_

_Why try?_

_I've got a camera_

_Tucked away inside my heart_

_If I'm a loser_

_Or just unlucky_

_So are you_

_Not everything is supposed to come true_

_Some words are best unsaid_

_Some love is not really love at all_

_I'll keep everything I shared with you_

_And that's enough_

_There's us_

_  
Somewhere between then and now_

_I looked away when you said we'll never change_

_And if you think what might have been_

_You'll lose today and we've got songs to play_."

Now Chris joined in with the base line,

"_Not everything is supposed to come true_

_Some words are best unsaid_

_Some love is not really love at all_

_I'll keep everything I shared with you_

_And that's enough_

_There's us_

_Not everything is supposed to come true_

_Some words are best unsaid_

_Some love is not really love at all_

_I'll keep everything I shared with you_

_And that's enough_

_There's us, there's us_

_There's us."_

"I get it," Nathan said. The chorus was where Haley really sang and it was obvious that she was talking about Lucas in her mind as she sang it.

"Yeah and that's how good she is," Peyton said.

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked, tearing his eyes off Haley whose face was lit up as she laughed with Chris and he looked at Peyton.

"She didn't write this song, but she makes it seem like she did by the emotion she puts into it," Peyton said. Nathan looked back at Haley who looked up. Their eyes locked and she smiled at him.

"Yeah," he said as he returned Haley's smile.

**What'd you think?**

_P.S. The songs in this chapter are:_

_Not Good Enough_ composed by kat657

_There's Us_ performed by Alexz Johnson_ (not sure if she actually wrote it)_


	8. Chapter 8

_Lots of Naley interaction, folks. As promised. Hope you enjoy it. Leave me some words. :D Katy_

Chapter 8 The present Tree Hill, North Carolina 

"Thanks for the ride, Nathan," Haley said as he pulled into her driveway and turned off the ignition.

"No problem," he said with a smile.

"I guess this is goodbye," she said as she started to get out of the car. Then she turned around. "Or do you want to come in and hang out?"

"Your parents are cool with that?" he asked. Haley shrugged.

"I don't think they'd have a problem with it but even so, what they don't know can't hurt them," she said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean that they're not home," she replied.

"Oh," he said.

"Besides, it's not like we're going to be having sex or plan a heist. We could make something to eat and watch a movie," Haley said.

"I didn't mean that. Er, I wasn't implying anything," Nathan stammered. Haley laughed.

"I know," she said. Nathan nodded and then looked around as he weighed the options before him. Go in and spend some time with Haley _alone_ or go home and listen to Cooper talk about some chick he had met and hooked up with. Tough choice.

"Just as long as it's not _The Notebook_," he said as he got out of the car and followed her into the house. Haley wrinkled her nose at the title.

"I didn't really like that movie very much. It was a little too sappy for my taste," she said and Nathan's smile widened. Was she perfect or what?

Haley led the way into the kitchen and started looking through her pantry for something to make. "Haley," Nathan started.

"Yeah?" she asked with her back still turned to him.

"You have an amazing voice," he said. She turned around and her mouth had curved into a grin that spread from one ear to the next.

"Thanks," she said and held up a box of something.

"What is that?" he asked. Haley showed him the box and he looked at it.

"Fettuccini?" he said slowly as he read the box.

"You don't like it?" Haley asked.

"I've never had it before. Don't you have mac and cheese because I love that?" he asked, handing her back the box with a grimace. Haley didn't take it and he looked up to see what was wrong and that's when he noticed that her eyes were glittering.

"Where have you been all my life?" she asked. Nathan gave her a puzzled look. She rummaged through the pantry and got two boxes of Kraft Dinner's Macaroni and Cheese. "Mac and cheese is my absolute favourite. I have about twenty boxes." Nathan laughed.

"Now there's a coincidence," Nathan said.

"Tell me about it. Peyton and Chris hate it. On the tour, I stuffed like seventeen boxes in one suitcase and when Chris saw it, he went ballistic. But he was too lazy to make something for himself so he ate it anyway," Haley said.

"You and Chris are pretty close?" Nathan asked. Haley nodded.

"We're best friends. Have been since seventh grade when he moved here from Texas," Haley replied.

"Yeah. When I moved back here, Peyton was the first person I met and we just connected," Nathan said.

"Really? Peyton is usually guarded around new people," Haley asked as she cut up some hot dogs and threw them in a pot of water.

"I mean that literally. I bumped into her on my way to basketball practice. She was clad in her cheerleading uniform and her skirt went up when we fell. In retaliation, she nearly beat me to death with her pompoms," Nathan said. Haley burst out laughing.

"Peyton hates being a cheerleader," Haley said.

"I know but she sticks with it because her mom was a cheerleader," Nathan said.

"Wow. You and Peyton did get close," Haley said.

"Yeah, we did. So are you a cheerleader?" Nathan asked. Haley chuckled.

"That's a good one," she said.

"So that's a 'no'?" he asked, his eyes brimming with humour.

"That's a 'hell, no'. I barely have enough coordination to walk from point A to point B without falling on my ass. Cheerleading requires far too many cartwheels and twirling around for me," Haley said.

"Have you ever fallen while performing?" Nathan asked, smirking. Haley frowned.

"What did Chris and/or Peyton tell you?" Haley asked.

"Nothing," Nathan replied looking at her innocently.

"Bull. What'd they say?" she said.

"They might have mentioned an incident where you fell off your stool in the middle of a performance and another one where you got to close to the stage, tripped over some wires and fell face first into the audience," Nathan said. Haley was silent as she shook her head in disbelief.

"It actually happened?" Nathan asked. Haley looked away.

"I'm going to kill Chris," she said, shaking her head. Nathan started laughing.

"I thought they were yanking my chain with the wires one!" he exclaimed between laughs.

"Someone forgot to tape the wires down so they were loose. I didn't notice and by the time I realized what I had tripped over, I had already gone over the stage," Haley said.

"That's freaking hilarious," he said.

"All the way down. Those stages are actually a lot higher than they appear to be," she commented. Nathan laughed harder.

"You really are a klutz," he said.

"I know but thank you so much for reminding me," she said bitterly.

"No problem. Is it safe for you to be near a stove let alone operating one?" he asked. She turned around and glared at him. "I'm just wondering if I should be concerned." Haley shook her head and laughed at him. She grabbed the pot off the stove and held it over Nathan's head threateningly. He looked up at her and shook her head.

"You wouldn't dare," he said.

"You sure about that, Lee?" Haley challenged.

"Pretty sure," Nathan said. Haley tipped it a little more so a droplet of water trickled over the side and landed on the table. She then evened the pot and returned it to the burner.

"It's for the better. If you get burned, I'd have to take you to the hospital and then try to explain how you got the burn by sitting at the table," Haley said.

"And you'd never do something like that," Nathan said uncertainly. Haley turned around and smiled mischievously.

"A long time ago, I would have but fortunately for you, I've grown up since then," she said.

"Thank God for small favours," he joked.

"Watch it," Haley warned. Then they both laughed. She added the noodles and stirred for a minute or two. Then she sat down beside him at the table.

"I'll grab some dishes," Haley said.

"I'll grab the forks," he said, heading over to the drawer that he had seen her take a ladle out of while she got up and reached two dinner bowls off the second shelf in one of the cupboards over the stove. He started to wash the forks just in case and while he did watched Haley and noticed how her shirt rode up, revealing a hint of her flat stomach. He quickly looked away.

"That song; the one that you wrote," he began with his eyes cast down. He didn't want to see the look on her face if he was being too nosy.

"What about it?" Haley asked.

"Is it really about your parents?" he asked. Haley chuckled.

"Yeah. Why?" she asked.

"It just seems really sad," Nathan explained. Haley set the plates down.

"Maybe it does. And it might even sound a bit harsh to be writing a song like that about your parents but it's not like I made it all up," she said.

"That's not what I meant," Nathan said.

"Oh. Then what did you mean?" she asked.

"It's sad that your parents don't recognize how lucky they are to have a daughter who values their approval so much that she breaks her neck to please them even when she shouldn't because they don't appreciate her," Nathan said. Haley let out a breath. "It just amazes me that they take you for granted the way they do. They spend so much time being away instead of getting to know how great you really are."

"I think that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me," Haley said.

"It's the truth," he said with a shrug.

"The popular opinion around here is that I'm a know-it-all who thinks I'm better than everyone else because I went on tour. Either that or I ran away from the people who care about me to chase after some pipe dream," she said.

"Lucas says that, doesn't he?" Nathan asked. Haley nodded.

"And Brooke and the rest of her loyal followers," she replied.

"Brooke's just jealous because of your past with Lucas. Lucas is just an asshole who needs to hurt you in order to make himself feel better," Nathan said.

"Lucas treats you pretty bad too," Haley pointed out. Nathan rolled his eyes.

"I'm used to it. Besides, all I have to do is remember the look on his face when Whitey made me the new shooting guard and I feel a hell of a lot better," Nathan said, laughing.

"Wow. Congratulations," Haley said.

"Thanks," Nathan said.

"Lucas has held that position since he got moved to the senior team in the middle of ninth grade. You've been here maybe a couple of months and Whitey gave the position to you. You must be great player," she said.

"I'm not horrible," Nathan said.

"Oh, modesty doesn't become you, Nathan. Especially with that smirk on your face," Haley said as she served the macaroni and cheese.

"Whatever," he said.

"So where did you live before?" she asked.

"Charleston," Nathan replied.

"Why did you move back?" Haley asked. Nathan faltered. Haley looked at him expectantly. He had never told anyone the real reason they had moved.

"My mom lost her job and my uncle got a job offer at some track near here so my mom packed us up and moved back to good old Tree Hill," he explained.

"Your uncle?" Haley repeated.

"My Uncle Cooper," Nathan explained.

"Oh, Cooper Lee. The one that works with Keith at the body shop now?" Haley asked.

"Yeah. He lost that job at the track and Uncle Keith offered him as a mechanic. Now they're business partners. It pissed the hell out of Dan," Nathan said.

"I applaud Keith then," Haley remarked as she took a bite of her food.

"You don't like Dan?" Nathan asked, feigning shock.

"Well, who could hate Dan Scott?" Haley retorted.

"I don't know. If we take the poll, I guarantee that at least half the town hates his guts," Nathan said. Haley nodded in agreement.

"He's an ass," she said.

"No arguments here but just out of curiosity, what did he ever do to you?" Nathan said. Haley laughed.

"Oh, not much, except he basically called me white trash five seconds after he tried to feel me up," she replied.

"What did Lucas do about it?" Nathan asked.

"Oh, the ass gene does not fall far from the tree. Lucas insisted I was exaggerating and then he asked what I expected when I went out in public dressed the way I was," Haley said. Nathan started coughing. He could swear he inhaled some of the cheese sauce. "And I was wearing jeans and a hooded sweatshirt."

"That sucks but you do know that I carry some of Dan's genes too," Nathan reminded her. Haley clapped her forehead.

"Right. Sorry about that but in the case of Lucas, it's true," Haley said.

"So why did you stay with him after that?" Nathan asked.

"I honestly do not know. I guess I thought it was just a defence mechanism with him. I thought that he could actually be a decent guy and that he wasn't a son of a bitch," Haley said. Nathan snorted. "But he fooled me again and again."

"You deserve better," Nathan said.

"Thanks," Haley said.

"So does Brooke," he said. Now Haley snorted.

"Uh-uh. That bitch deserves Lucas. It's a match made in heaven," Haley said.

"I take it you're not fond of Brooke," Nathan said. Haley smiled.

"Never have been. Even when she and Peyton were friends in middle school," Haley said. Nathan dropped his fork.

"Peyton Sawyer- our moody Peyton- was friends with Brooke Davis?" he asked. Haley nodded.

"They were best friends eons ago," she replied.

"What happened?" Nathan asked.

"What else?" Haley retorted.

"Huh?" Nathan asked.

"They fought over a guy," she replied.

"What guy?" he asked. Haley laughed as she shook her head at the memory.

"Lucas," she replied.


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: Leave me some words and enjoy.** Katy_

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 9**

_The present_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"Lucas Scott?" Nathan asked. Haley nodded.

"Yep," she said.

"Why?" he asked. Haley smiled.

"I thought you were Peyton's best friend. How could you not know the history?" she asked.

"You know that Peyton's not the type to tell a person everything about herself at the drop of a hat. It took me weeks to find out that Jake cheated on her," Nathan replied.

"Well, I think Peyton should be the one to tell you about Lucas too," Haley said, getting up and putting her plate and fork in the sink. Nathan turned in his chair and glared at her.

"Haley, come on," he said. She turned and looked at him questioningly. "You can't just bring something like that up and then not tell me the whole story. That's mean and this is my half-brother we're talking about here." Haley laughed as he struggled with the phrase.

"If I tell you, you have to swear never to bring it up to Peyton unless she tells you herself," Haley said.

"I swear," Nathan said.

"Peyton and Lucas dated for a while in seventh grade," Haley said. Nathan's eyes widened in disbelief. "Back then 'dating' meant holding hands and little pecks on the cheek, of course, but they dated nonetheless."

"I get it," he said.

"And Peyton was pretty taken with him," Haley said.

"Right," Nathan said in understanding but you could tell by the tone of his voice that it was hard for him to fathom. "This is hard to digest. I mean, Peyton hates Lucas."

"And the reason is because he cheated on her and never bothered to tell her that they were over. She found out when she saw him kissing Brooke at his locker one day at school," Haley said.

"What an asshole," Nathan said. Haley shrugged.

"Everybody knew about it," she said.

"Except Peyton?" Nathan asked. Haley nodded. "And you knew about it?"

"Yeah, I did," Haley replied.

"So why didn't you say anything?" Nathan asked accusingly.

"Peyton and I weren't as close then as we are now. We hung out at school and that's about it because she was still in cahoots with Brooke. They were best friends at the time. I more or less kept to myself and hung out with Chris," Haley said.

"But you still called Peyton your friend, didn't you?" Nathan asked.

"Not really. It may be hard to believe but I've never had that many girlfriends," Haley said.

"This is unbelievable," he said.

"That's also when she started to hate Brooke," Haley said.

"I don't blame her," Nathan said.

"Their fight was legendary," Haley said.

"Fight?" Nathan repeated.

"More like battle," Haley said.

_

* * *

The past_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"You back stabbing, two-faced bitch!" Peyton Sawyer exclaimed as she saw Brooke and Lucas kissing against his locker. The couple broke apart and surprise fell onto Brooke's features.

"Peyton, what are you doing here so early?" she asked, pushing Lucas away from her. Peyton's eyes narrowed as she folded her arms across her chest.

"My dad drove me in early. He is shipping off earlier than expected. There's your answer. How about you give me one?" Peyton asked.

"An answer to what?" Brooke asked, playing dumb.

"To why you have your tongue shoved down my boyfriend's throat," Peyton said.

"I," Brooke began.

"You know what? Save it. I don't know why I'm so surprised. People say you'd betray your own mother if it meant getting some ass. I just assumed I was more important to you than some boy," Peyton said.

"Lucas isn't some boy," Brooke said.

"You're right," Peyton said, walking over to her. "He was _my_ boy."

_

* * *

The present_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"And that's all I caught of it because the first bell rang and I didn't want to be late," Haley said.

"Poor Peyton. She's lost two boyfriends to Brooke," Nathan said.

"It is sad but I think she's over it. She's been gaga for Chris even before she met Jake," Haley said.

"And Chris would never cheat on her?" Nathan asked protectively.

"If I told you Chris isn't the type to cheat, I would be lying because I know he's such a flirt," Haley said.

"So he would cheat on Peyton?" Nathan asked.

"No," Haley said.

"You just said," Nathan started.

"It's different with Peyton. Chris really cares about her. They've been friends for almost five years and he's been infatuated with her since he was ten," Haley said.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"He told me," Haley said.

"Chris told you he had a crush on Peyton? I don't know any guy who would admit that to any girl especially when said girl is one of their crush's best friends," Nathan said.

"I have sincere eyes and Chris knows I don't do the whole 'dish' thing. If someone tells me a secret, that secret stays with me," Haley said.

"You told me about Peyton and Lucas," Nathan pointed out.

"That was never a secret. You could've asked anyone who was around then and they'd know exactly what you were talking about. And Peyton never said to keep that a secret from people," Haley said.

Nathan nodded. He knew Haley was a decent person. He had told her all about the real reason he had moved away, something he had not even told Peyton, and he knew she wouldn't tell anyone.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, noticing her far-off gaze.

"How unbelievable it is that you're Lucas' brother," Haley said. Nathan smiled.

"Why, because we're as different as day and night?" Nathan asked.

"That sounds cheesy, but yeah. I mean, Lucas is an ass who doesn't care about anyone other than himself," Haley said.

"Not true. He cares about his ego," Nathan joked.

"But you're nice. I've seen you with your mom and I've noticed how protective you get of Peyton," Haley said.

"And you're wondering why Lucas couldn't be like me," Nathan said. Haley shook her head.

"No, I'm wondering if maybe Dan did you a favour by choosing Lucas and Karen," she said.

"By abandoning me?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, actually," she said. Nathan looked at her incredulously. "Just think about it. If Dan had claimed you as his son, you would've grown up to be exactly like Lucas or worse."

"I guess I never thought of it like that," Nathan said.

"I thought you never thought about it at all," Haley said.

"It's kind of hard not to think about something like that. When I was really young, I never thought about it because I didn't really know about Dan and Lucas. I mean, I knew my dad had abandoned my mom and me so that made me wonder what was wrong with me. Until I found out that he abandoned us for another family," Nathan said.

"At least you had your mom and uncle," Haley reminded him.

"Yeah. My uncle Cooper is cool and my mom's amazing. I couldn't ask for a better family," he said. Haley just looked away from him and nodded in agreement. Nathan didn't notice the tear that trickled out of her eye.

* * *

Haley was sitting in her living room with Peyton, Nathan and Chris three days later. They were working on a project they'd all been assigned. "So that's all that I could find out about their weapons," Chris said, handing her a piece of paper.

"What are you giving this to me for?" she asked, going over the two paragraphs.

"I need you to type it up for me. My computer crashed," Chris said. Haley gave it back to him.

"You know where my computer is. Go march down the hall and type this up yourself. I can't do it. Your writing is unreadable," Haley said.

"What are you talking about? You've read some of my songs and they're in my writing," Chris asked.

"That was your printing. You handwriting resembles chicken scratches," Haley said. Chris rolled his eyes. He was about to walk down the hall when the front door opened. All four looked to the door and Haley cringed when she recognized the high-pitched voice that giggled.

"Haley!" the voice sang. "Little sis, where are you?"

"Hales, if you want to, we can duck out the kitchen. They haven't come around the corner so there's still time," Chris said. Nathan looked at him in confusion and Haley just shook her head.

"I'll have to deal with her sometime. Might as well do it with all of you here," she said. A woman and a man entered the room. The woman was obviously related to Haley since she had the same brown eyes and skin tone. Haley got up and approached her and she threw her arms around Haley.

"Hi, sweetie! It's been too long," she said. Haley was numb in the embrace. When she pulled away, she simply smiled.

"Hey, Gretchen, what brings you here?" Haley asked.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Leave some words and enjoy. **Katy_**

* * *

**

**Chapter 10**

_The present_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"Mom mentioned you were all alone and so we thought we'd come up and pay you a visit since you have school," Gretchen replied. Haley nodded but then her expression faltered.

"We?" she repeated, looking at her older sister with dread. _Please don't let him be here_, she thought to herself.

"Yeah, Brad and me," Gretchen confirmed and Haley felt like running to her room and locking the door or moving to Chris' house temporarily. She chuckled.

"How thoughtful but you came at a pretty bad time," Haley said. Gretchen's face fell.

"Bad time?" she repeated in confusion.

"Yeah, see, we're working on a big project that's due on Monday and we really need to get it done," Haley replied.

"Oh. So we can hang out after you're done, then," Gretchen said.

"Not for the next few days. We were just going to head over to Peyton's house to work on the display board," Haley said. Gretchen nodded slowly and looked over at Nathan, Chris and Peyton who were seated with numerous books in front of them, reading and writing but not packing their things up to leave.

"It doesn't look like you're leaving," Gretchen pointed out. Haley turned back and glared at her friends and they jumped into action.

"Sure we are. We're just lazy," Peyton remarked as she shoved all her books in her bag and put on her leather jacket.

* * *

"I feel really guilty," Nathan announced as they walked into Peyton's living room and started opening their books.

"About what?" Peyton asked.

"Lying to Haley's sister like that. We weren't planning on coming here at all. You know it, I know and I bet she's figured it out too," Nathan said.

"She'll get over it. I'm sure she's already forgotten about it," Chris said as Haley came into the house.

"Who's forgotten about what?" she asked, as she set her bag down on the couch and started setting up her laptop.

"Chris is assuring me that your sister's already forgotten that we just left your house to get away from her," Nathan said. Haley nodded.

"She has," Haley confirmed.

"What we did doesn't sit right with me," Nathan said.

"And what did we do exactly?" Haley asked.

"Bailed on your sister when she came all this way just to see you," Nathan said.

"So?" Haley asked.

"Haley, she lives in California. That's like the other side of the country. She and her husband dropped everything, got into a car and drove like 15, 000 miles to get here and the very second they walk in the door, you bailed," Nathan said.

"Gee, you're breaking my heart," Haley said sarcastically.

"What's the matter with you?" Nathan asked.

"You don't know what you're talking about," she said.

"Your older sister came here to see you because you're always alone in that house and you act like you don't even care," Nathan said.

"Nathan, I've been home alone for _years_ and do you want to know how many times Gretchen has come back to Tree Hill?" Haley asked. Nathan looked at her in confusion. "Try none. Not once. The only reason she's here now is because my parents paid her a visit in Palm Springs and sent her here to see me because they felt guilty for not coming home."

"I didn't know," he said.

"And of course they pick the wrong sibling to send," Haley exclaimed.

"What are you talking about, Haley?" Peyton asked.

"Nothing," Haley said.

"Oh, it's not nothing, Hales," Chris said.

"What is it then?" Peyton asked him. Chris looked at Haley carefully. She sighed.

"Gretchen and Brad got married while I was on tour," Haley said.

"So they're newlyweds?" Nathan asked.

"You never told me that. How was the wedding?" Peyton asked.

"I wouldn't know. I didn't go," Haley replied.

"How could you not go to your own sister's wedding?" Nathan asked. Haley looked at him sadly. She could hear the anger in his voice and she understood why he felt that way but he didn't know all the facts.

"Because she didn't invite me," Haley replied. Nathan looked down.

"What?" Peyton exclaimed.

"She didn't even tell me she was engaged and then showed up at a concert a week _after _the wedding and introduced Brad as her husband," Haley replied.

"And they got into a huge fight which escalated when Brad insulted our music and Gretchen agreed with him," Chris said.

"I'm sorry, Haley. I didn't know," Nathan said. Haley nodded and shrugged.

"It just pisses me off that she thinks can show up here and act like nothing happened - like she _didn't _get married and not tell me, like she _never _came home after she left- and expect me to drop everything to hang out with her all because our parents sent her here!" she exclaimed.

"If you're so upset with her, don't you think you should tell her?" Nathan asked.

"I have told her numerous times. But with Gretchen, it all goes in one ear and out the other," Haley said.

"So tell her again. Sit her down and talk to her," Peyton said.

"What's the point?" Haley asked.

"The point is that your sister has been ignoring you for years, Hales, and it's high time you let her have it," Chris said.

"You mean tell her off?" Haley asked.

"That's exactly what I mean! Your family continues to hurt you and you never say anything," Chris said.

"And if you keep bottling everything up, you could end up with worse problems," Nathan said. Peyton held his gaze for a minute and smiled at him sympathetically.

"All right. I'll talk to her," Haley said.

"_After_ we finish this project," Chris said. They all started laughing.


	11. Chapter 11

_Thanks to **Nathanlvr**, **lilmonkeygirl31**, **HaleyJamesScott2323** and **Emily Carol** for replying. _

_**Here's eleven for you. Leave some words and enjoy.** :D Katy_**

* * *

**

Chapter 11

_The present_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"You will never change, will you?" Haley demanded of her older sister, glaring at her with blazing eyes. She had come home after a long night at the café, hoping to spend the rest of the night in peace and quiet while she and Nathan worked on putting the last touches to their project for about two hours before she drifted off to sleep and had to get up for an early shift the next morning.

But as soon as Nathan had pulled into her driveway, Haley had recognized all the telltale signs of yet another of Gretchen James' infamous all-night parties. Music was blaring, every single light in the house was left on and there was a stench of stale beer in the air as Haley furiously dashed out of Nathan's car, into the house, leaving the door open for him so he could come in after her, run to the expensive stereo she had bought with three weeks' worth salary from the café and turn it off.

"What in the world are you talking about?" Gretchen asked innocently, rejoining her sister in the living room after saying goodbye to her guests.

"You're leaving first thing in the morning. You're far too drunk to do anything right now so who do you think is going to be left to clean up your mess? And I have to work at eight in the morning tomorrow." Haley exclaimed. Gretchen sighed.

"I'll clean some of it up," she promised. Nathan could barely make out the slurred words of Haley's sister but judging by her dubious expression, Haley had.

"I seem to recall hearing snippets of your arguments with mom while growing up where you promised to do the same thing and yet the next day, she would wake me up, hand me a mini apron and announce yet another cleaning day! So I'm not going to hold my breath that you're going to follow through this time." Haley ranted.

"That was most likely Taylor," Gretchen argued.

"No, Taylor was usually already up in her room serving out her latest grounding. And she was smart enough to know not to throw a rager while she was _supposed_ to be babysitting," Haley corrected her.

"Haley, I was nineteen and I was saddled with babysitting a four-year-old plus four other siblings every night," Gretchen said, trying to get Haley to understand. Instead, Haley stiffened.

"Just exactly what do you mean when you say, 'saddled'?" she demanded.

"Our parents worked almost every night, sweetie, who do you think was the one that looked after you at the time? I was young and I wanted to party. So I figured I should throw a party at the house. Mom and Dad couldn't exactly say that I wasn't looking after you when I was still at home," Gretchen said.

"But I could," Haley retorted.

"Haley, it's late and I have one hell of a headache. Do you think we could talk about this before I leave?" Gretchen asked, massaging her temple with her hand.

"Give me a break," Haley complained with a roll of her eyes. Gretchen looked at her in confusion. "You're not tired and even if you do have a headache, we both know the real reason you want to talk about this before you leave."

"And that is?" her sister asked irately.

"Because you know we're not going to talk about it. You'll either wake up late and be in a hurry or leave before I even wake up because that's the way you deal with confrontation," Haley said.

"That's running away," Gretchen pointed out. Haley nodded.

"That's exactly the point I'm trying to make," she said.

"What point?" Gretchen asked.

"You don't deal. You either run away or ignore it," Haley said.

"I most certainly do not," Gretchen said indignantly.

"Oh, yes, you do! Do you remember when I found out that you were married? I lashed into you and rather than arguing with me or apologizing to me, your husband jumped in, made things worse and then you both just walked away!" Haley exclaimed. Gretchen opened her mouth to argue, but Brad spoke first.

"You ungrateful, selfish little bitch!" he exclaimed. Haley turned to him in shocked fury. "We came all the way out here to visit you because you're always alone here and what do you do? Not only do you ignore us completely but on our last days, you insult us. We came here for _you_."

Nathan felt like punching the guy in defence of Haley, but she was already turning on him. Her jaw was taut and her eyes were narrowed into slits. Expecting her to start screaming at them in rage, Nathan was perplexed when Haley started laughing.

When she calmed down, she shook her head and in a low, smoky voice she said, "You were sent here by mom and dad because _they_ felt a small amount of guilt for leaving me alone yet again," and turning to Gretchen with a smouldering glare, she continued, "You left this house and you never looked back. Do not insult me further by claiming that you actually came here of your own accord. You should have done us all a favour and stayed away."

"Haley, I'm your sister," Gretchen said.

Haley scoffed. "_Since when?_"

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Brad demanded. The couple looked at her. Gretchen was shaking her head in disbelief. Brad was looking at her with a warning in his eyes. He guessed his sister-in-law didn't notice but the truth was that she just didn't care. She just raised her eyebrows pointedly.

"Who do you think you are, calling _me_ a bad sister?" Gretchen asked angrily.

"If the shoe fits, Gretchen," Haley retorted. She gave them one last steely gaze before retreating downstairs with Nathan to work there.

* * *

"Are you feeling better?" Nathan asked. Haley turned around from the computer and shrugged. 

"I have no words," she replied.

"About your sister?" he asked.

"About any of it," she clarified.

"I'm not sure I understand," he said. Haley turned back to the computer and hit a few keys to save her work.

"I don't really talk about my feelings that much. Never to my family," she said.

"You talk pretty freely with Chris and Peyton. Even me sometimes," he reminded her.

"It's different with them," Haley said.

"Why?" he asked.

"In my family, it's always about someone else's problems. My siblings were the ones my parents worried about. Especially Gretchen and Taylor. With me, they kind of sit back and relax because they think that they've seen it all and they figure I've learned from watching my siblings and seeing all of the mistakes they've made," Haley said.

"So they were tough on your siblings but with you, they just kind of sit back and relax?" he asked.

"Pretty much. If I had a problem, they didn't want to hear about it," she said.

"Your mom wasn't even there for you when you broke up with Lucas?" Nathan asked.

"I doubt she even remembers I had a boyfriend let alone broke up with him," Haley said.

"That sucks," Nathan said, shaking his head in disgust. His family was the exact opposite of Haley's. Sometimes his mom wouldn't even let him leave the house until he told her what was bothering him. And she could always tell. He didn't know how but she knew but she always did.

"Yeah, it really does, but I'm used to it. I'm used to not talking about it so opening up about how I feel to one of them is very new to me. I'm still processing what it means." she explained. Nathan put his arm on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

"Well, I'll be here for you when you figure it out," he promised. Haley smiled at him gratefully.

"Thanks. You're great," she said, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. Nathan turned his head and their lips touched. Haley pulled away and started panicking because she was afraid Nathan would freak out but when she looked at him, he was actually smiling.

"Now look at what you've done," he teased as he brought her close to him again and kissed her softly at first but then his kiss grew fervent. When he broke the kiss, he studied her face for signs as to what she was feeling. She grinned at him as she leaned in again and kissed him hungrily.


	12. Chapter 12

**_This is a filler chapter with one big thing. See if you can figure out what the big thing is. Leave me some words and enjoy._**

**

* * *

Chapter 12**

_The present_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"Let me get this straight," Peyton Sawyer began as she and Nathan stopped at her locker at school. "You and Haley kissed on yesterday?"

"Yes, we did," he replied with smile on his face. Peyton hit him on the shoulder with her purse.

"And you're just telling me this now!" she exclaimed.

"Jeez, Peyton! It did only happen yesterday," he replied.

"You say that like it's no big deal, Nate, but it's four o'clock in the afternoon today. You and Haley kissed about twelve hours ago and you're only telling me now," Peyton scolded.

"You're lucky I even told you," he said. Peyton's eyebrows shot up.

"Was that a threat?" she asked.

"Of course not. It was just a reminder," he said.

"Reminding me about what?" she asked.

"That I don't tell you everything," he said. Peyton chuckled. "What?"

"Who are you trying to kid?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"What do you think you haven't told me?" she asked.

"Lots of things," he replied.

"Yeah? Name one," she said. He bit his lip. He wracked his brains but he couldn't think of anything. He rolled his eyes and Peyton laughed.

"Shut up," he said.

"Exactly. You tell me everything; even things I don't want to know to begin with," she said. Nathan looked at her seriously.

"What did you not want to know about?" he asked.

"Well, I don't like to hear about your uncle's body shop. Cars are boring and fixing them is even more boring," she said. Nathan nodded in understanding. "Then there's that Helen girl."

"Helen?" he repeated in confusion.

"That girl that you met when you were younger in the park and you two became pals," Peyton replied.

"Her name wasn't Helen," he said.

"Then what was it?" Peyton asked.

"I told you that I don't remember her name. All I remember is that it started with an H," he replied.

"Then you don't know that her name wasn't Helen, do you?" Peyton shot back.

"I don't know for certain but I don't think it was," he replied. Peyton shrugged and then she smiled.

"So what does this kiss mean for you and Haley?" Peyton asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Peyton deflated and shook her head at him.

"You didn't discuss it?" she asked. Nathan looked at her and shrugged.

"Should we have?" he retorted. She shook her head again.

"Nathan, what am I going to do with you?" Peyton asked. He glared at her. "You should have had the talk."

"Talk?" he repeated.

"Yeah, the talk. You know the one where you decide if you're dating, or you're just friends who kissed?" Peyton asked. Nathan nodded.

"Oh, that talk," he said. Peyton looked at him expectantly. "We decided to go on a date before we decide if we're dating." Her mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide.

"You and Haley are going on a date?" she practically squealed. Nathan laughed at her. "What?"

"If you could only see yourself right now," he said.

"What are you talking about?" she asked in confusion.

"You're acting like a girl," he replied.

"We've been best friends for a long time, Nathan. Are you really telling me that you're just noticing that I'm a girl now?" she teased.

"Of course I noticed. It's kind of hard not to," he said as he looked her over. Peyton narrowed her eyes at him. "I just meant that you're acting really girly."

"Shut up!" she exclaimed and hit him. He chuckled.

"See what I mean?" he asked as he launched into hysterics.

* * *


	13. Chapter 13

_Thanks to**Chris-Crips**, **cadi cay**, **chelle2911**, **Nathanlvr**, **iftheyonlyknewthetruth**, **Lorilozz**, **spikesilla**, **deli41321**, **Emily Carol**, **lilmonkeygirl31**, **xSmile**, **a**,**kitotterkat** and **WBblued34** for replying. Leave some words and enjoy. Katy_

**

* * *

Chapter 13**

_The present_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

Nathan approached Haley's front door nervously. He was extremely happy because he was picking her up for their first date but he didn't want to screw anything up. He constantly had to shove his hand in his jacket pocket and feel the cold metal of his car keys to assure himself that he didn't leave them in the car, thus locking himself out and stranded on her street.

He went up the last step of her porch and rang the doorbell. After a minute or two, no one answered so he rang again. Three minutes later, there was still no answer. The hair on the back of his head stood up. He walked back down the stairs and looked around to make sure he was at the right number. Then he looked around again and things seemed different. _Oh, God. Was he even on the right street?_

"Nathan, there you are," a soft, relief-filled voice said. He smiled as he turned around to face Haley and when he saw her, he froze.

He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. Haley's brow furrowed as she looked down at her clothes. Then she looked up at him and widened her eyes. "What do you think?"

"That's a tough question to answer," he replied. Doubt flickered in her eyes. "I'm stuck between beautiful and absolutely stunning."

Relief washed over her features as she grinned at him. "Well, beautiful is always good," she told him. He nodded and then she cocked her head to the side. "But I'd take absolutely stunning over that in a heartbeat." He laughed as she came down the stairs and stopped when she was next to him.

"Hey," he said as he leaned down and gave her a small kiss on the lips. When he pulled back, he took her hand in his as they walked to the car together. He opened her door for her and when she was inside with the door safely shut, he got in his side of the car and started the ignition.

--

He pulled into a parking lot and turned the engine off. He took a few breaths as he turned to her. Almost as if she sensed his concern, she put her hand over his that rested on the steering wheel.

"You don't need to take me to a restaurant, Nathan. Whatever you have planned is good enough for me," she assured him.

"I planned a picnic," he announced. Her eyes went wide with excitement. "On the docks."

"You did bring the food, didn't you?" she asked, searching his face.

"Of course I did," he replied. Haley laughed.

"Then, what are we waiting for?" she asked, unbuckling her seatbelt and then opened her door. She turned to him. "Let's go."

--

"I swear, your mom has outdone herself this time," Haley said as she took the last bite of her pie.

"I made it," Nathan informed her. Haley looked at him in surprise.

"Really?" she asked.

"Using her recipe," he admitted. She laughed.

"Did you bake it?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied in confusion.

"That counts as making it to me," Haley said. She put her fork down on her plate and put it in a container. Nathan got up and threw the mess in a nearby trashcan and when he returned, Haley was getting into the car.

"What are you doing?" he asked her. She turned around and motioned towards the car.

"I'm getting inside," she replied.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well, we finished eating," she replied. He was looking at her in confusion and then cracked a smile.

"And you thought that was all we were going to do?" he asked.

"What else did you have in mind?" she asked, looking at their surroundings. He knew she was pointing out that there was nothing else for them to do. He held out his hand and when she took it, he led her further down the docks and stopped at a small canoe.

"We're going sailing," he told her. Haley smiled.

"Nathan, that's a canoe," she pointed out.

"What's your point?" he asked.

"That it's a canoe and not a sailboat. You need to use paddles in order to get anywhere and it doesn't have any. Besides, I don't really like going on boats- algae, leeches, fish, etc. They kind of freak me out," she replied. He laughed. "What?"

"You actually believed me," he replied. She gave him a puzzled look. "Anyone who takes you out on water better have life insurance." Her eyes widened.

"What do you mean?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest in undecided anger. She was kind of mad at him but she knew it was leading to a joke.

"You tripped over wires and fell off a stage for God sakes! If you and I went out on the water together, who's to say you wouldn't tip the boat over?" he exclaimed and she then started laughing.

"You should've come back a few years ago. You would've saved my sister Taylor from a very traumatic experience," she said, still smiling.

"What?" he asked.

"Taylor is my youngest older sister," Haley explained.

"Oh, right. You got a letter from her a while ago," Nathan said, remembering the time they were working at _Lee's Tree_ and Haley was reading the letter on her break.

"Taylor's always been a free spirit. She goes wherever the wind takes her and about two years ago, the wind brought her back home," Haley began. Nathan laughed. It was odd to hear Haley talk about a member of her family in a good way.

Her family had caused her so much pain and anger that he found it difficult to understand how she could still think of them in a positive manner but the few times he'd heard her talk about Taylor, it was always positive. "Anyways," Haley continued, "she came back during the summer and for some reason she was really into sailing. It might've been because she had spent the last month or so working on a boat but I'm not sure."

"This doesn't sound good," Nathan commented on the way back to the car. They both got in and sat with the engine off as Haley told the story.

"She had been begging to be able to go on the water and our parents finally let us take the small motor boat that we owned out on the water. Only Taylor and I went and after two hours on the water, I was bored so I started to complain. Taylor and I ended up in a big fight and I got up to turn the motor back on. I lost my footing and fell in the water," Haley said.

"How is that traumatic for Taylor?" he asked.

"I'm not done," Haley replied.

"Sorry," he said. She smiled.

"Taylor started flipping out. When I came up, I grabbed onto the edge of the boat and she was like screaming for help. I kept asking her to help me back in because my hands were covered in slime or something so I couldn't pull myself in. It took a while but she finally came over to where I was, putting to boat off balance," she said.

"Uh oh," Nathan said, smiling in amusement.

"And when she bent over to pull me up, the boat flipped over," Haley finished.

"Poor Taylor," Nathan said.

"I thought it was hilarious because when we walked in the front door of the house- completely drenched- she started yelling, 'Never again!" Haley said. Nathan laughed. "Let's just say she's never dragged me sailing with her again."

--

They pulled into her driveway and Nathan insisted on walking her to her door. When they got there, he kissed her softly on the mouth. He started to pull away but Haley pulled him back to her and kissed him more passionately. When he finally did pull away he shot her a questioning look. "I like you so there's no need to play it safe anymore," she said. He laughed. Haley turned to her door and held onto the knob. She pulled her key out and put into the lock but the door opened from the small force.

"Did you forget to lock it when we left?" he asked.

"Impossible. I always lock it and even if I did, I didn't even turn the knob yet," Haley replied. Nathan grabbed her hand and led the way into the house. Haley pointed towards the kitchen because you could tell the light was on. When they got to the doorway, they saw Chris and Peyton. Chris was at the stove and Peyton was at the kitchen table.

"Hey guys," Peyton said, announcing their presence. Chris turned around and smiled at them. Haley exhaled deeply, took her coat off and flung it on the chair.

"Keller, I gave you a key for emergencies not for you to break into my house and raid my kitchen because your parents never go grocery shopping," Haley exploded in anger.

"Haley, I didn't…" Chris started to say.

"Do you have any idea how scared I was just a few seconds ago? I thought you were a burglar or even worse: someone from my family," Haley said. Peyton chuckled at her and then closed her mouth when Haley glared at her.

"I didn't mean to scare you," Chris said.

"Then what are you doing here so late?" Haley demanded. Chris looked at Peyton.

"Tell them. It's okay," Peyton assured him. He nodded. Chris knew he could tell Haley anything but he still wasn't completely convinced that Nathan was unlike all the other jocks at their school.

"I need a place to stay and I was wondering, or hoping, that I could stay with you," he said.

"Sure you can," Haley replied, wondering what the big deal was but then she realized something. "But why?"

"My parents kicked me out," he replied.

"What?" she asked, bewildered. She came over and hugged him. "Why?" He tightened his arms around her.

"Because I finally voiced my opinion regarding their situation and they either didn't agree with me or didn't like hearing the truth so they kicked me out," he replied. Chris' parents were notorious for their battles. They fought constantly and rarely had a nice thing to say about one another.

There was never any physical abuse but a lot of yelling and Chris hated it. He had told her so many times that he wished they would stop trying to work things out for him and get divorced because the situation wasn't making anyone happy. He turned to Nathan and said, "Now you know why I'm always here, in the studio or at Peyton's."

"Your secret is safe with me," he said. Chris nodded appreciatively at Nathan.

"Hey, how was your date?" Peyton asked, looking at the two of them simultaneously.

"Oh, it was-" Nathan started.

"-Amazing," Haley finished. Nathan laughed.

"And what's the consensus?" Peyton asked.

They both looked at each other for a minute and eventually smiled at one another. "We're dating," they replied in unison. Peyton squealed in excitement as she hugged Nathan and then Haley.

"I'm so happy for you two," she said.

"We can tell," Nathan teased. Haley leaned into him and he put a hand on her back.

Peyton turned to her head up to look Chris in the eyes and with a smug smile on her face she said, "I so told you."


	14. Chapter 14

_Thanks to **Michaela**, **lilmonkeygirl31**, **deli1321**, **Nathanlvr**, **iftheyonlyknewthetruth**, **abonana**, **Emily Carol**, **Lorilozz**, **AngelLuva**, **a**, **chelle2911**, **JiffyLube** and **xSmile** for replying. __Leave some words and enjoy. :D Katy

* * *

_

**Chapter 14**

_The present _

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"It's been a long time since I've heard from you," the girl on the other end of the phone said. Nathan smiled.

"Yeah, it has. I'm sorry for not keeping in touch better but I was thinking about you yesterday and I realized that we haven't spoken in a few weeks," he said.

"I understand that life can get hectic at times and I'm guessing that's what happened," she said.

"Oh, you could say that. A lot has happened since the last time we talked," he said in agreement with a small smile on his face as he thought of everything that happened.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Well, the coach made me point guard for the team and moved Lucas to small forward," Nathan replied. The girl giggled.

"Wow. Congratulations," she said. There was a moment of silence as she adjusted her pillow that her head laid on. She took a deep breath. She could sense that something was very different with him and she was almost positive she knew what it was. She almost didn't want to know the answer to this question. "Have you met anyone?"

"Well, I've made a few new friends and Peyton finally got herself a boyfriend," Nathan replied, attempting to lighten the mood.

"That's good for her but you know that's not what I was asking," she said.

"Annika," Nathan started to say.

"Just tell me. We knew that this would happen sooner or later and if we're really going to stay friends, Nathan, we need to be able to talk about this stuff. Besides, I told you about Tom," Annika cut in. Nathan sighed. Annika knew this meant that he had a new girlfriend. "What's her name?"

"Haley," he replied.

"And?" Annika asked, ignoring the lump of jealousy in her stomach. It wasn't that she wanted Nathan back or anything- she knew that they were over even before he moved away- it was hard for her to imagine him with someone else even though she herself was with someone new.

"And I like her," he said. Annika smiled at his voice. His tone was soft and guarded; revealing nothing and yet everything at the same time. It was typical of him. "A lot."

"How long have you been dating?" she asked.

"Three weeks and two days," he replied. She chuckled. "What?"

"I don't think I've ever known a guy who keeps track of how long he's been dating a girl except you," she teased.

"Very funny," he remarked.

"And are you treating her right?" Annika asked.

"Aren't you supposed to be looking out for _me_instead of someone you've never even met?" Nathan asked.

"Hey, it's part of the whole feminine thing. We need to watch each other's backs," Annika explained.

"And who's watching mine?" Nathan asked.

"About half of the female population," Annika shot back. Nathan laughed at her joke.

"You and Peyton would get along very well, you know that?" he asked, recalling many times where Peyton had made similar remarks to him.

"Well, are you?" Annika asked.

"Yes, I am treating her well," Nathan replied.

"And is she treating you well?" she asked.

"No complaints," Nathan replied.

"Well, then, I'm happy for you," Annika replied.

There was a knock on Nathan's bedroom door. The knob turned and Haley poked her head in. She had a huge smile on her face. He smiled at her and then held the phone tighter against his ear. "Hang on a second, Annika," he said. He put the phone down on the bed; put a pillow over it so that Annika wouldn't hear what was going on.

"Hey, you," he said to Haley who came closer to him. She didn't speak as she sat down on his lap and kissed him hello.

"I'm here to bring you to school as requested," she said. Nathan furrowed his brow at her.

"I thought I was picking you up," he said. Haley shrugged.

"Well, you were until Peyton came to pick Chris up and he said I could use his car," she explained. Nathan nodded. "Who's on the phone?"

"Annika," he replied. Haley's face went white.

"Your ex-girlfriend?" she asked carefully.

"Put that tone away because you have nothing to worry about. She's just a friend now and I called to catch up," he said. Haley nodded. He picked it up and told Annika that he had to leave for school.

"Is she there?" Annika asked.

"Who?" Nathan asked.

"Haley," Annika replied. Nathan glanced at Haley and then bit his lip nervously.

"Uh, yeah, she is," he replied.

"Can I talk to her?" she asked.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I want to talk to her," Annika replied.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," he said.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to tell her embarrassing stories about you or anything even though there are a _lot_. I just want to talk to her," Annika said. Nathan rolled his eyes at her threat.

"All right," he replied and passed the phone to Haley and mouthed that Annika wanted to talk to her.

"Why does she want to talk to me?" Haley mouthed back as she raised the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" she said into the receiver.

The conversation started off slow and then Haley chuckled and Nathan looked at her questioningly. "You should be getting ready or is showing up in nothing but boxers the new fashion for boys today?" He rolled his eyes and went to get dressed.

--

"So are you going to tell me what she said?" he asked as they walked into the school.

"Why do you want to know?" Haley asked.

"My ex-girlfriend and girlfriend had a ten-minute phone conversation which wouldn't bother me except for the fact that you've never met and have nothing in common besides me. Wouldn't it bother you if Lucas and I talked for ten minutes?" he asked.

"Bad example. You and Lucas are brothers and the two of you have a lot in common," Haley pointed out.

"Like what?" Nathan asked carelessly.

"Like the fact that you have the same father, you both are exceptional basketball players, you go to the same school, you're the same age and last but certainly not least, you've both had the honour and privilege of calling me your girlfriend," Haley said with a huge smile on her face.

"Okay maybe it was a bad example," he agreed.

"Yeah, it was," she said. He smiled back at her. "Besides, if you and Lucas ever did get to talking- which would be a miracle in and of itself- the last thing I would worry about is you two talking about me. I think you would talk about Dan or the team."

"I don't get what the hell is your problem, Luke!" Brooke Davis exclaimed as she and Lucas walked right past them in the hallway.

"You slept with Tim Smith- my best friend- and you're wondering what my problem is?" Lucas asked in disbelief as they came to a stop in front of her locker. She opened the door and then looked at him apologetically.

"I'm sorry, did you want to sleep with him or something?" she asked.

"Of course not!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Then what's your point?" Brooke asked.

"My point is that I had to find out from some starry-eyed freshman that my best friend slept with my…" Lucas started but his sentence trailed off as he realized what he was about to say.

"Your _what_?" Brooke demanded. Her eyes were wild as she expected some sort of insult to fly out of his mouth.

Lucas took a deep breath and sighed. He grabbed one of her hands. "My girlfriend," he finished hopefully. Brooke took her hand away from him and grabbed her books. She shut her locker door and put the lock on.

"We're not going steady, Luke. I'm not your girlfriend and you're not my boyfriend. This," she said, gesturing to him and then to herself, "is not a relationship. This is just two people who have fun- well, a _lot _of fun together."

"You don't feel _anything_ for me?" Lucas asked slowly. "At all?" Brooke bit her lip.

"I don't do relationships anymore. Not after what happened last time. I thought you understood that," she replied. Lucas looked at her. She pursed her lips and then smiled kindly at him.

"Brooke," he started.

"You really are a great guy and you deserve to be with somebody who loves you and wants everything that you want but it can't be me. Not ever," Brooke said, shaking her head as she walked away from him.

Lucas leaned against her locker in misery and for the first time, he noticed his half brother, Nathan with his arm around Haley. They approached him. Haley stepped forward and asked, "Are you all right?"

"No," he replied truthfully. "Not really." Haley looked at Nathan and gestured to Lucas with her eyes. Even Nathan couldn't help but feel sorry for Lucas. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak and he noticed Lucas' eyes widen in disbelief.

"Come on," Nathan said.

"Where to?" Lucas asked as he started to follow them without realizing it.

"To practice," Nathan replied.

"That doesn't start for another hour," Lucas pointed out.

"So we'll start early. What's Coach going to do, give us detention for it?" Nathan joked. Lucas laughed.

"Well, I think I'll head to the music room," Haley announced. Nathan smiled. Haley would always come to games but she wouldn't hang around practice when she could be using the piano in the music room to work on a new song.

"Bye," he said. They kissed and Haley disappeared into the crowd of students. Nathan turned back to Lucas.

"You and Haley, huh?" Lucas asked.

"You got a problem?" Nathan asked, eying him warningly.

"No. It's about time she found someone decent," Lucas replied. Nathan widened his eyes in disbelief. "Don't look so surprised. Have you not noticed that I haven't been harping on you recently?"

"Actually, no," he replied in surprise.

"Well, I have," Lucas said.

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"Because I've smartened up and realized who I should really be angry at; it isn't you," Lucas said.

"Dan," Nathan realized. Lucas nodded. They shared a knowing look and walked into the gymnasium.

* * *

_Love it? Hate it? Let me know._


	15. Chapter 15

_**A/N**: Thanks to **Nathanlvr**, **jessd4491**, **AngelLuva**, **Lorilozz**, **lilmonkeygirl31**, **deli41321**, **Cadi Cay**, **Emily Carol** and **danielle503** for replying. Leave some words and enjoy._

**Chapter 15**

_The present_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"I think she's just scared," Haley said to Peyton as they got to Peyton's locker.

"Scared of what?" Peyton asked incredulously.

"Getting close to someone," Haley offered.

"This is Brooke Davis we're talking about. The girl has been closer to more guys than even you and I know about," Peyton said.

"I'm not talking about sex," Haley told her.

"I'm not sure Brooke knows any other kind of closeness," Peyton said.

"I think she does because when she was dumping Luke, she said that she couldn't be serious with a guy after what happened last time," Haley said.

"She said that?" Peyton asked. Haley nodded. "Hmm."

"What?" Haley asked.

"It's just weird to think of Brooke caring about someone other than herself," Peyton said.

"Every so often people surprise you," Haley said.

"Call me a skeptic but I don't think Brooke could ever change," Peyton said.

"Maybe she can," Haley said.

"Why do you care?" Peyton asked.

"What do you mean?" Haley asked.

"Well, considering that she dumped Lucas and everything he did to you, one would expect you to be happy that he finally got a taste of his own cruelness but you're not. You seem sympathetic," Peyton said.

"No one deserves to be crushed like that especially in public," Haley argued.

"Except Lucas Scott," Peyton retorted. Haley rolled her eyes. "And Brooke."

"I know you're not fans of either one of them, Peyt, but I can't help but feel a little bad for them. For all of their bad qualities, they seemed happy with one another," Haley said.

"And maybe they were but it's got nothing to do with us," Peyton said.

"That didn't stop you from pushing me and Nathan together," Haley said.

"That was different," Peyton said.

"How?" Haley asked.

"You had amazing chemistry. Plus you and Nathan are my friends and I wanted you two to be happy… _together_," Peyton said.

"Well, Brooke and Lucas had chemistry," Haley pointed out.

"But I hate _them_," Peyton reminded her.

--

"Hey, Hales, what brings you here?" Chris asked.

"I've got a new song that I want to sing with you at TRIC tomorrow night," Haley said as she walked into the booth and sat down at the piano.

"What song?" Chris asked cautiously.

"Take a look," Haley said, placing her spiral notebook on the piano, covering the sheet music for some song Chris was hoping she'd play for him that night- which was what he always did- as she opened the book to the right page. Chris brought his stool over and looked the lyrics over.

"Your lyrics are getting better and better," Chris said.

"Thanks," Haley said, beaming with pride.

"Is this about Numb Boy?" Chris asked using the distasteful nickname he had come up with for Lucas.

"It's not about him. I guess you could say I wrote it _for_ him," Haley said.

"So it's not emulating your feelings for him?" Chris asked curiously.

"No, I only have eyes for one jock," Haley said, referring to Nathan.

"Good because he is like five steps up from Lucas," Chris said.

"Let's just rehearse," Haley said as she began to play the song.

--

"Why did you drag me here?" Nathan asked Peyton.

"I did not drag you here. As I recall, when you found out Haley was playing with Chris tonight, you begged me to get you tickets _and_ a backstage pass even though the place was already sold out," Peyton pointed out.

"Do you know she has a new song?" Nathan asked.

"Yes, I did. I was there when she wrote it," Peyton said as she remembered Haley furiously scribbling lyrics down as part of her plan to reunite Brooke with Lucas.

--

_The past_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"You're wasting your time with this. You do know that, right?" Peyton asked.

"I don't care. I saw Brooke in history today and she looked miserable," Haley said.

"And you actually fell for her act?" Peyton asked.

"Must you always be so negative?" Haley asked.

"I have reason to be negative when it comes to her," Peyton reminded her.

"I know," Haley said, nodding.

"Actually, I have _plenty_ of reasons," Peyton said.

"Well, she's never done anything to me and even though she's hurt you, I can't help but feel the need to do something to help," Haley said.

"You're playing with fire by messing around with other people's lives," Peyton warned.

"I know how to use a fire extinguisher," Haley assured her confidently and then returned her attention back to her notebook.

--

_The present_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

The music started and the house lights came on. Chris was standing centre stage while he was strumming on an acoustic guitar and began to sing: "You think you're so sly. You keep everyone at arms length."

"To protect yourself from what you consider a weakness," Haley finished.

"It tears me apart when you keep things to yourself," Chris sang. There was a small pause as the melody took over. "I want to know what's really in your heart but if you don't face your fear and open up…"

"…I will never know," Haley joined in.

Then they both sang: "I'm not helpless."

"Wanting someone around me," Chris started.

"Doesn't mean that I can't be on my own," Haley finished.

"Emotions are not weaknesses," they sang together.

"Caring doesn't take away our strength. You make things more complicated than they really are," Chris sang.

"Just exactly who do you think I am?" Haley started. "You can't keep pushing me away. Sooner or later, you're going to need to let me in."

"But will I be there?" Chris finished.


	16. Chapter 16

_At long, long last I have an update. I finally finished chapter sixteen and it's really long to make up for the long wait and recent stream of short chapters so leave some words and enjoy. xx**Katy**xx_

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**Chapter 16**

_The present_

Tree Hill, North Carolina

"Good morning everyone," Ms. Carolyn Innes greeted her students the day after the long weekend. "How was your weekend?"

"Long," Tim Smith bragged to her.

She rolled her eyes but smiled at his youthful naiveté; the day where even Tim would have to work would come. "Did you do anything special?" she asked the whole class.

A few students raised their hands and it was those that most often answered her questions but one student that she never heard from unless she asked him a question directly raised his hand. She was so shocked that she ignored all the other students that had raised their hands before him and said, "Yes, Lucas?"

"I got my girl back," Lucas announced proudly.

Some of the students clapped in congratulations to him, mostly the guys while the girls frowned and exchanged pitiful glances. Carolyn nodded and when she turned to the blackboard, she smiled to herself.

Even she had heard the gossip swarming the school about how Brooke had dumped Lucas two weeks before in the hallway.

"How did you do it?" she heard Tim ask.

"That's between me and Brooke," he said with a knowing smile.

"You told me everything that happened with Haley," Tim pointed out in an offended voice.

"That's because _nothing_ happened with her," Lucas explained.

Tim's eyes brightened. "Oh, you did _that_! I won't tell a soul."

Heads turned at that and immediately people started whispering.

"You just told our whole class!"

* * *

Nathan walked into the cafeteria and sat down next to Haley who was in a heated discussion with Chris.

"I did not get it wrong!" she insisted.

"Then what's with this big red circle around the note?" Chris asked, showing her a piece of paper with staff lines and some music notes scrawled on the page.

"Mr. Kay needs reading glasses," Haley retorted without even glancing at the sheet of paper.

"He wears contacts," Chris reminded her and laughed as she threw him one of her menacing glares.

"Then he needs to get them upgraded," she said.

"You just don't like getting answers wrong on tests," Chris said, shaking his head.

"No, I don't like an answer being marked wrong when it's _right_," Haley corrected.

Peyton grabbed the paper from Chris and looked it over. Then she scoffed. "It's one wrong answer on a test worth a hundred marks. Seriously, Hales, what's the big deal?"

"I answered the question right and Mr. Kay marked it _wrong_," Haley said incredulously.

"And how do you know that it's right?" Chris challenged.

"I looked it up," Haley replied, showing them the answer in a book she had been reading before the argument started.

"You _stole_ the answer book?" Peyton gasped.

Her eyes narrowed as she shook her head insistently. "It's my text book. Mr Kay cuts corners by taking questions from it and the answers are all in the back of it," Haley replied.

"Let me see that," Chris said, reaching for the book.

Haley started to pass it over to him but then pulled back as she studied him suspiciously. "Why?" she asked.

"I want to see it for myself," he said.

"Don't you believe me?" she asked.

"Not really," he replied. Haley's eyebrows shot up. "I'm kidding, Hales. I just want to see the answer for myself."

"Why?" Peyton asked.

"It's simple. I'm in the same class too but in the afternoon and we're a day behind so if she took this test yesterday, then that means-"

"I'm not going to help you cheat!" Haley screeched furiously.

"You already did when you let me see your test," he said and smiled.

Her eyes blazed. "_That's_ why you wanted to see my test?"

Chris chuckled. "I wanted to see how you did because you always kick ass on tests."

"I cannot believe that you _used_ me like that!" Haley exclaimed.

Chris shook his head at her. "Why are you so surprised? You _know_ me; if I find a shortcut, odds are I'm gonna use it."

Haley narrowed her eyes at him further and got up. She showed him her textbook and pretended to be passing it over to him. "Not anymore!" she said as she snatched her test from Peyton's hands instead.

"Hey!" Both Chris and Peyton exclaimed.

"Sorry, Keller, but your shortcut," she said as she waved her test paper in front of his face, "has been burned."

Nathan kissed her on the cheek and smiled. "Nicely done," he said.

Haley blushed at the contact. She wasn't embarrassed or anything, blushing was one of the reactions her body had to Nathan's touch along with a small flutter of her heart and instant giddiness that she couldn't shake. "Thanks," she murmured.

"I could've gone without the paper burn," Peyton whined from across the table.

Haley chuckled as she said, "There's no such thing."

"Then what do you call this?" Peyton asked, holding her hands out to reveal redness across her fingers.

Haley's eyebrows shot up and she bit her lip. "Sorry."

"I believe congratulations are in order," Nathan announced suddenly.

Peyton looked at him in bewilderment. "You're congratulating her for hurting me?"

"Not about that," Nathan replied.

"Then what are you talking about?" Chris asked.

"Your plan worked," he told Haley.

"Which plan?" Peyton asked.

"I heard that Lucas and Brooke got back together," Nathan said.

Haley's eyes widened. "You did?"

"From who?" Peyton asked.

"It's all over school now but I heard it from Bevin Mersky this morning," he replied.

"That's great! I'm happy for them," Haley gushed, smiling proudly.

Peyton scowled as she took a swig of her water and then smirked. "So am I."

Haley's eyes widened into the size of saucers. "Huh?"

"They're perfect for one another and I guess them being together is better for everyone," Peyton said.

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked.

"Lucas was an ass that didn't deserve a good girl like you, Hales," Peyton said.

"I'll say," Chris grunted.

"Brooke has hurt too many other girls by stealing their boyfriends even while they're still dating but the one guy she could never seem to keep her hands off is no longer interested in dating anyone except her which means no more broken hearts trailing behind either of them," Peyton finished.

"It's a match made in heaven," Chris said.

"Or hell," Peyton said.

"I thought you said they were perfect for each other," Haley said.

"I do but I think they're both devils," Peyton explained.

"You really should stop holding a grudge. It isn't healthy," Nathan said.

Peyton rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Danny Junior," she retorted.

"That's _different_," Nathan said defensively.

"It's a grudge and according to you, grudges are unhealthy," Peyton said, throwing his words back in his face.

"He got my mom pregnant, dumped her for his pregnant ex-girlfriend that he had already walked away from and told my mom to abort me after he was married to Karen," Nathan said with clenched fists.

"I thought you said that you weren't angry at Dan for abandoning you," Haley said.

"What?" Peyton exclaimed in disbelief.

"You said that you didn't really see how it was possible for someone to abandon someone when they were never there in the first place. So why hold a grudge?" Haley continued.

"I'm not pissed about what he did to me. He's a stranger that I'm better off without," Nathan said.

"So why are you so angry?" Haley asked.

"I'm angry about what he did to my mom. He broke her heart and then tried to force her to kill her baby," Nathan replied.

"Well, Brooke and Lucas hurt _me_. My best friend and my boyfriend fooled around behind my back and didn't even have the decency to be discreet about it- the whole fucking school knew about them! Two people I thought I could trust played me for a fool," Peyton exploded.

"They're assholes for hurting you but that's life. Do you really intend to hold it over their heads for all time?" Nathan asked.

"You speak like it's so easy, Nathan, but you've never been there before. Would you ever forgive Haley if she kissed another guy, like Chris, for example?" Peyton asked.

Haley and Chris looked at one another. "Gross!" They both exclaimed in unison.

Peyton laughed but looked at Nathan. "Forget their reaction to the idea and just remember that Haley is your girlfriend, Chris is a friend and you saw them up against the lockers with their tongues down each other's throats in a crowded hallway for your entire world to see," she said.

Chris pretended to throw up on his plate. "Peyton, come on already," he whined.

Haley wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I know you're trying to prove a point to Nathan but do you have to punish us with that revolting visual?" she complained.

Nathan shook his head in amusement and then gave Peyton a sympathetic look. "I know they did a number on you," he said gently.

"You don't know the half of it!" Peyton sneered. She put her water bottle down on the table and leaned forward, deliberately folding her arms on the table in front of her. "I had to sit back and watch _him_ pull the same crap with Haley over and over again. When I finally started to trust _her_ again, she went after Jake. I'm not going to give her an opportunity to take Chris!"

Chris put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "Brooke could never take me away," he said.

"Underestimating her is the first thing she preys on," Peyton said.

Chris cupped her cheek and forced her to look at him. He smiled. "Curly, I've been crazy for you ever since I was ten! Now that I finally have you, do you really think I'm going to throw that away for what I _hear_ is a good lay?"

"You _are_ a guy, Keller," Haley pointed out.

"Hey! Not all guys cheat," Nathan said defensively.

"Name one that doesn't," Peyton said.

"I can do better than one. Me and Chris- that's two guys," Nathan said.

"Thanks, Nate," Chris said. Then he turned to look down at Peyton. "Satisfied?"

Peyton smiled and nodded.

"I'm not," Haley said. Nathan gaped at her and her eyes widened as she realized what he thought. "Not about you. I meant that Chris doesn't count because he _has_ cheated."

"You have?" Peyton asked, looking up at him in concern.

"Gee, thanks a lot, Haley," Chris said through gritted teeth and glared at his best friend.

"He hasn't cheated on _you_," Haley assured Peyton.

"I haven't cheated on anyone," he said.

"Chris, don't lie. That'll just land you further in the dog house," Haley said.

"I'm not lying," Chris said.

"What about that waitress in Wilmington- I think her name was Sheila? You cheated on her with Carla, one of the back-up singers. Then there was Angela and Eve," Haley said.

"That's four girls, man," Nathan said.

"Is that a lot?" Haley asked. Nathan looked at her incredulously. "Because they're just the ones from the tour."

"How do you know all this?" Peyton asked.

"Who do you think had to deal with their phone calls?" Haley replied.

"I wasn't dating any of them," Chris said.

"I beg to differ," Haley argued.

"I saw girls but I didn't date them," he said.

"Why not?" Nathan asked.

"Because I was on tour and I didn't want to be attached. Plus, I was only in a city for a week or so, so they knew it was short-term going in. I made that part clear," Chris said.

"What about Lonnie Greene?" Haley asked.

"That girl he dated in tenth grade?" Peyton asked.

"That was payback; she cheated on me first with Dim Tim no less," Chris said.

"Oh yeah, I remember now!" Haley said, laughing.

"It's not funny!" Chris snapped.

"What are you laughing about?" Peyton asked.

"When he-" Haley said.

"Don't you dare," Chris exclaimed.

"Why not?" Haley asked.

"Because it was embarrassing," he explained.

Haley rolled her eyes. "That didn't stop you from telling them about the time I tripped on stage."

Chris smirked. "Which time?"

She glared at him. "The time I tripped over the chords in the middle of a performance."

Chris cracked up at the memory. "That was hilarious! I _had_ to tell them," he informed her.

"That's your excuse?" she asked in disbelief.

He nodded.

"Then it's mine too."

"It's not the same thing and you know it, Hales. You're a klutz; it's perfectly natural for there to be embarrassing stories when you have a spaz attack," he said, grimacing. If looks could kill, he'd be a pile of ash in three seconds.

"Are you really trying to tell me that you don't normally act like an idiot?" Haley asked, perplexed.

"Please," he begged.

She shook her head. "When he found out about Lonnie and that other guy, he decided to be like all the guys he saw on television. So he used his fade ID and went to a bar to 'drown his sorrows in liquor'," Haley said.

Peyton started shaking with laugher. "Oh, _please_, don't torture us and make us wait for the ending," she said.

"What he failed to realize is that the actors probably weren't drinking real alcohol and if they were, it was watered down or there were a lot of takes of the scene so he came over to my house drunk as hell afterwards and discovered for the first time that he cannot hold his liquor," Haley said. She glanced at Chris and smirked at the look of embarrassment on his face.

"All right, that's it," Nathan said, as he nearly collapsed with laughter.

"I thought you didn't want to wait for the ending," Haley said in confusion.

Peyton's eyebrows shot up. "There's more?"

"Not being able to hold liquor is disappointing but it's not really embarrassing," Chris grumbled.

"The next day, he went to school with the mother of all hangovers and it just happened to be the day he had to do a presentation," Haley said.

"Oh, boy," Nathan muttered as he looked at Chris sympathetically.

"About five minutes into the note-taking part of his presentation, he hurled all over the overhead and overhead sheets-"

"Oh, sweetie," Peyton said in between her giggles.

"He failed the presentation part and got suspended for showing up drunk to school," Haley finished.

"The suspension was total bull shit! I was drunk the day before, not that day," Chris fumed angrily.

"They might have believed you'd bothered to changed your clothes but you didn't. You reeked of alcohol," Haley pointed out.

"Let's rewind my embarrassment and get to the point; I've never cheated on someone unless they deserved it and Peyton doesn't," Chris said quickly.

Haley turned to Nathan. "And just for the record, I would never, _ever_ kiss Keller. Not even if you paid me enough money that would make me richer than Donald Trump."

Nathan laughed. "Good to know but I didn't think you would," he said and kissed her.

"Of course you did," Peyton said. Then she winked at Chris and Haley. "That would be _gross_!"

They all erupted into laughter.

* * *


	17. Chapter 17

_Thanks very much to **Nathanlvr**, **AngelLuva**, **chelle2911**, **deli41321**, **itsDMFkids**, **lilmonkeygirl31**, **xSmile**, **coox**, **Emily Carol**, **naleysocute**, **DayDreamer323**, **PrettyGirl14** and **kutebloo** for replying. Your continued support of this story means a lot and welcome to the new readers as I see a few new readers. Hope this chapter keeps you intrigued! Expect updates for all stories to be more frequent as my writer's cap has finally been returned. Leave some words and enjoy the chapter. xx**Katy**xx_

**

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Chapter 17

"All right class. Your college applications are due by 12 o'clock. For those of you that remembered to bring them, please pass them to the front of the class," Mr. Reynolds instructed his homeroom which was his senior math class five minutes before the period was over.

Haley turned around and grabbed her book bag off of the back of her chair. She swung it onto her desk and opened the flap. She rummaged through it until she found the manila envelope containing her three applications. She closed her bag and slung it on the back of her chair again.

She carefully opened the envelope and made sure that she had brought all three applications. Haley had been preparing for this day since eighth grade. By ninth grade, she had a list entitled "The Top Three Colleges According to Haley James", which were Stanford University, Duke University and lastly, Raleigh University.

Her first choice was ironically the furthest from Tree Hill. She had accompanied her parents and Taylor on many college campus tours. The purpose of the trips was for Taylor to choose a college to attend. She ended up choosing Atlanta University, which was not one of the chosen colleges on their parents' itinerary. They had visited Stanford's campus third and Haley had been intrigued.

If she believed in love at first sight, it would describe her reaction to the campus perfectly. But she didn't; she was far too practical to believe in idealistic fantasies. For her, things needed to be concrete scientific fact, which probably explained why she wasn't very religious either.

Haley was about to hand her three applications to the person in front of her when someone had tapped her shoulder. Curiously, she turned around to see what Nathan wanted and when he handed her nine more applications, she gave him an apologetic smile and took them and added her own to the pile.

The bell rang a few seconds after the last pile of papers were placed into Mr. Reynolds' hands. "Have a good day, everyone," he said as they all raced to the door.

Haley lingered behind like always, as she was not as eager as the rest of the students to leave. She put her books in her bag, grabbed her chemistry books and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Bye, Miss James," Mr. Reynolds said and Haley smiled at him in acknowledgement.

"Bye," she said as she stepped over the threshold and entered the hallway.

Nathan, who had been waiting for her outside the door, immediately put his arm around her back, pulling her close as they walked to their second period classes, which were located in the same area. His health class was actually across the hall from her chemistry class.

"So now I know why you were so distracted last night," he announced.

Haley glanced up on him, noticing the amused smile that crossed his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she lied.

His arm around her back tightened in response and he started laughing. "When we were on the phone last night, you were probably mulling over your applications," he said.

"I was not," she insisted. Another lie.

"You're a terrible liar," he informed her.

She opened her mouth to make one last feeble attempt at lying but he widened his eyes at her and shook his head. She couldn't help the smile that began to tug at her lips and he chuckled.

"All right," she conceded. "But I was just making sure that everything was filled out."

"You've had them filled out for more than three weeks," he reminded her.

"It never hurts to double check," she said defensively while rolling her eyes.

"Or quadruple check in your case," he teased.

"You handed yours in, right?" she asked in concern.

"Of course I did," he replied.

"What were your choices?" she asked, looking at him in sudden excitement.

He stopped in front the middle of the hallway. They had come to their classrooms. He leaned down to kiss her. Afterwards, he hugged her and smiled.

"I'll tell you next period," he said.

Haley pouted. "That's in seventy-five minutes."

"It'll go by quickly. The period before lunch always does," he said.

"No, it doesn't. That period and last period are always the longest," she argued.

"They're all seventy minutes long," he reminded her.

"You know what I mean," she said.

He smirked. "I do but if we don't hurry, we'll both be late and get served with a detention which means you'll have to wait even longer to find out."

"You're such a tease," she accused. She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek and entered her classroom, unaware that he was watching her with a grin now on his face.

--

"Hales, our college applications are due today," Chris said in a singsong voice when he noticed his friend approaching their table in cafeteria during lunch.

Haley scowled at him. "I know that, Chris. I'm the one that reminded you."

"Where's Nathan?" Peyton asked from beside Chris. Her brown eyes were searching the cafeteria for the familiar head of black hair.

"He's talking to Whitey," Haley replied as she plopped down in one of two chairs on the other side of the table. "He'll be here soon."

Peyton nodded and then noticed the faraway look in Haley's eyes as she glanced around the cafeteria. "Is something going on between you two?"

"No," Haley mumbled.

"What's up?" Chris asked in an ominous tone. His protective instinct was kicking in as he noticed the telltale signs that Haley was worried over something, possibly hurt.

His own parents were no longer interested in him since he had called them on the state of their marriage and he had always been closer to Haley anyways. She was more than his best friend; she was like his little sister even if she was younger than him by just a month.

"College," she replied.

"What about it?" Peyton said.

"It's coming up really soon," Haley elaborated. She took one of Peyton's fries. "I just realized that when I was sitting in class trying to pay attention to the teacher."

"You don't seem too happy about it," Chris remarked.

"Why would I be?" Haley asked.

Chris and Peyton both snickered.

"Because you're Haley James," Peyton replied.

"You were talking about college before we were even in high school," Chris added.

"Do you remember The List?" Peyton asked Chris jokingly.

Chris started laughing as he nodded. "You bet I do."

"What list?" Nathan asked as he sat down beside Haley and started eating his lunch.

"Haley's college list that she started in middle school," Chris replied.

"What college list?" Nathan asked, peering over at Haley curiously.

Peyton gasped. "You don't know about The List?"

Nathan shook his head.

"Haley's always been a bit of an organizational freak and she's really hardcore when it comes to making big decisions like which college to attend," Chris started to explain.

"First she made a list of five colleges she liked. Then, she made lists for each college, listing all of the strengths and weaknesses they had. By ninth grade, she had the original list of five narrowed down to her top three choices," Peyton replied.

Nathan smirked. "What a coincidence. That's how many colleges we're allowed to apply to," he said.

"Remember Haley's an organizational freak, Nathan," Chris laughed. Nathan's brow came together as he looked at him in confusion.

"It's not a coincidence," Peyton explained.

"He's being sarcastic," Haley pointed out, rolling her eyes at all of them.

After they were finished laughing, Nathan put his arm around her and hugged her to him. "I think your quirks are cute," he said.

"Good," she said and kissed him on the cheek.

"So what were your top three?" he asked.

"Stanford, Duke and Raleigh University," she replied.

She felt him tense. "Stanford?" He echoed.

She looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"Isn't that really far away?" he asked.

"It's three thousand miles away," Chris said. Everyone looked at him in surprise. "I looked it up when she told me it was one of her choices."

"He's right. It _is_ three thousand glorious miles away from him," Haley said as her mouth curved into a mocking smile.

Chris' jaw dropped. "You'll miss me, James."

"That is really far away from me too," Nathan muttered in her ear.

Haley smiled as she turned to look at him. "The list they've been teasing me about for years now is of my top three colleges to _apply_ to, not attend. That decision comes when I get my acceptance or rejection letters."

"How are you going to decide?" Nathan asked.

Peyton hooted with laughter. "I get the feeling that one or two pro-con lists will be involved."

"I will be weighing the advantages against the disadvantages," Haley replied.

"What colleges did you apply to, Nathan?" Chris asked for everyone.

Haley's eyes brightened. "That's right. Lunch is now half over. I've waited long enough," she said, chiming in.

Nathan smiled. "I applied to Duke, UNC and USC."

"You two both picked Duke," Chris pointed out.

"We did," Haley realized. They had never talked about their college choices before. They'd talked about college but the actual name of the institution never came up. She met Nathan's gaze and he was as surprised as she was.

"That's so cute," Peyton cooed.

"Curly and I both picked the same ones but we planned it that way," Chris said.

"We want to go to the same college. We figure we'll be accepted to at least two of the same colleges and when we get our letters, we're going to go over the calendars again and see which one has the better music program," Peyton explained.

"What if you're not accepted to the same colleges? What if two turn you down and the one that accepts you isn't the same college?" Haley asked.

"We hope that doesn't happen but if it does, it's not that big of a deal," Chris said.

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"Because we only applied to colleges in North Carolina so if that does happen, at least we'll still be able to get an apartment together like we planned," Peyton replied.

"You both have good grades so it's unlikely that only one college will accept you," Haley said, reassuring any worries they might have had.

"That's true," Chris agreed.

--

"You're all really lucky," Nathan said later on as he sat on the couch in Haley's living room.

Haley was lying down with her head in his lap, facing the television. She turned the TV off and moved her head so she could look up at him. "What do you mean?"

"You can afford to go to all of the colleges you chose. I have to rely on scholarship offers," Nathan said.

"Duke will offer you a full scholarship. You're an amazing player so they'd be crazy not to want you on their team," Haley said.

"I certainly hope you're right. I've always wanted to go there," Nathan said.

"And you will," Haley said with absolute certainty which caused him to smile.

He looked away from her to hide his face. "Will you?" he asked quietly. She stiffened in his lap and he started to feel the happiness he usually felt when with her drain out of him.

Haley rose and sat down beside him. She leaned on his shoulder and their heads were now touching. "I don't know," she replied softly.

* * *


	18. Chapter 18

_Thanks to **Emily Carol**, **Nathanlvr**, **gilmoregurl55**, **lilmonkeygirl31**, **iftheyonlyknewthetruth**, **Laffertylover**, **DayDreamer323**, **deli41321**, **Lorilozz**, **chelle2911** and **xSmile** for replying. Leave some words and enjoy. _

* * *

**Chapter 18**

"What's your problem?" Peyton asked Nathan when he barged into her bedroom.

"Nothing," he lied.

Peyton raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. "You do know that you are a terrible liar, right?"

"You love Chris, right?" he asked.

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers. "What?"

Nathan studied her reaction and smirked. "Oh, have you two not discussed your feelings?"

"No, we have but I don't usually share personal information like that," she replied.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," he said and sat down beside her.

"You're really annoying sometimes," Peyton glowered.

His smile widened as he put his arm around her and squeezed her lightly in a friendly hug. "That's great, Peyton. You deserve someone to love you after everything you've been through," he said.

Peyton tensed under his arm and she turned to give him an appraising look. "What's going on, Nathan?"

"I don't want Haley to go to Stanford," he confessed.

"So tell her," Peyton said.

"I kind of already did," he said.

"Really?" Peyton asked doubtfully.

"Well, I asked her if she was going to Duke and she said she didn't know," Nathan explained.

"Did you tell her that you wanted her to come to Duke so you two could be together?" Peyton asked.

"No," he replied.

Peyton hit him upside the head with the back of her left hand. "Why not, you moron?"

"Because going to Stanford is her dream. I don't want to force her to give that up," he said.

"Except that going to Stanford is not Haley's dream," Peyton pointed out.

"It's not?" he asked.

"No. Her dream was to go on tour and she's already done that," Chris said, stepping inside the room.

"When did you get here?" Nathan asked, looking around.

"He's been here the whole day," Peyton replied.

"I've been here for at least fifteen minutes. Why am I only seeing you now?" Nathan asked.

"I just got out of the shower. By the way, you're water pressure sucks, Curly," Chris said.

Nathan was stuck in a land full of confusion as he stared at the couple. Then he looked around the room and noticed that Chris' clothes were hanging in Peyton's closet and his guitar was lying against her desk. Then his overactive imagination went to one of the scariest places imaginable. "Oh, my God, I just went to a place where no best friend should ever have to go!" Nathan exclaimed.

"You're starting to sound like Haley," Chris complained.

"It's eerie," Peyton agreed.

"So you want advice on how to get Haley to stick close to home for college?" Chris asked.

"It's her decision, not mine," Nathan protested.

Chris started laughing. "Who are you kidding, Nathan?"

"You have a lot of input on where Haley goes to college," Peyton said.

"Or you will if you tell her how you feel," Chris finished.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"Be upfront about your feelings for her. Tell her you don't want her to go far away because you love her," Peyton said.

"Love her?" Nathan repeated.

"You do love her, don't you?" Chris asked, a warning in his curious gaze.

"Yes, but I can't tell her that to get her to stay. It's not fair," he said.

"What's not fair is keeping her in the dark. If you don't tell her, she's going to make her decision based on the knowledge that your relationship is nothing more than high school," Peyton said.

"And I think we all know that it has the potential to be much more than that," Chris said.

--

Haley sat at her desk, writing a new song when she heard something hitting her window. She paused the music filling the room and stared at the window just in time to see a small object hit the glass. A pebble.

"Haley!" someone shouted from outside.

Haley got up and approached the window cautiously. She pulled back the curtain, allowing her a sliver of view of the outside. She looked down and saw a familiar head of black hair. She let out of the breath of air she had been holding and opened her window. "Are you trying to scare me or what, Nathan?" she bellowed.

He winced at the volume of her voice. "Sorry."

"Why didn't you just knock at the door?" Haley asked, pointing at the front door below her window.

"I didn't want to attract your parents' attention," he replied.

She smiled. "And you thought throwing pebbles at my window and all this yelling back and forth wouldn't have caught their attention?"

He shrugged. "I didn't say I thought it through."

She closed the window and walked downstairs, opened the door and smiled at him. "My parents are never home. Why should today be any different?"

"They're not here," he realized.

"No, they're not," she confirmed.

"I should have known," he said.

"It's fine but just get inside before the neighbours start talking and my parents do come home because they heard about the hot guy prowling outside my bedroom window," she said, grabbing his sleeve and leading him inside.

"I need to talk to you," he said bluntly.

"Is this a sitting down or a standing up kind of conversation?" she asked worriedly.

"Sitting down," he replied.

"Uh-oh," she muttered under her breath as she led the way up to her room and sat back down on her bed. He followed suit and put his arm around her.

"Haley," he began.

"I just have one thing to say first," she said.

"Okay," he said, a puzzled look on his face. "Go ahead."

"If you're breaking up with me, please don't do it by telling me that I'm a great person. I don't think I could take that," she said.

He removed his arm from around her back and stared at her. "You think I'm going to break up with you?"

"You said you needed to talk," she replied.

"I do but not to break up with you," he said.

Haley sighed with relief. "Good because I don't want to break up."

He laughed. "Neither do I."

"So what did you want to talk about?" she asked.

"Our future," he said with conviction.

"Oh, this doesn't sound good," she breathed.

"I think you're amazing," he said.

"I think you are too," she said slowly, clearly not understanding where he was going.

"And I think we're amazing together," he continued and then stopped as if to gather his thoughts.

"Nathan, do you think you could cut to the chase?" she asked. He looked at her in confusion. "You're making me nervous."

"I love you," he said.

Haley's eyes widened slightly and she had to turn away so he wouldn't see the smile that came onto her face or the tears that glistened in her eyes. Nathan loved her! She was being such a girl and she hated it.

"Haley?"

"Huh?" she asked and turned around to look at him.

He widened his eyes at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something in return. "Are you going to say _anything_?"

She smiled. "I love you too."

He sighed and pulled her in for a kiss. "Good."

"So is that what you wanted to tell me?" she asked afterwards.

"I want to make this work because I think we could be very great," he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I want to you to stay close to me," he replied.

She stared at him. "And just exactly where do you think I'm going?"

"To Stanford," he said softly.

"No, I'm not," she said.

He looked at her in disbelief. "You're not?"

Haley shook her head. "Not after this."

* * *

_There will be one last chapter to this story. Possibly an epilogue afterwards but I'm not sure yet. xxKatyxx_


	19. Chapter 19

_Thanks to **Emily Carol**, **Nathanlvr**, **luvnaley23**, **deli41321**, **Nicki-hunny**, **chelle2911 **and **xSmile** for replying. This is the last chapter. Leave some words and enjoy. **Katy**_**

* * *

**

**Chapter 19**

"Haley, are you ready yet?" Peyton yelled from downstairs. Her patience was beyond gone as she sat in the living room with her boyfriend and Nathan.

"Almost," Haley replied.

"Hurry it up!" Chris yelled.

"We can't be late for our own graduation!" Peyton added.

Haley came down the stairs and sauntered into the room where they were waiting for her. "Well, if someone hadn't spilled his soda all over my dress, we would already be there."

"It was an accident," Nathan said defensively.

"An accident that left us with only fifteen minutes to get there," Peyton pointed out.

"It's a good thing you did spill that soda on her," Chris said.

Peyton jabbed him in the stomach. "Something that makes us late is not a good thing."

"It got her out of that horrid dress, didn't it?" Chris shot back as they were getting into the car.

Haley cringed. The dress had been a present that her mother had sent two weeks earlier along with a letter explaining that her parents would meet her at her graduation as well as asking that she wear the hideous thing. She turned to Nathan and smiled. "You're forgiven."

Nathan smiled. "It's not like you looked bad in it," he said.

"Thank you but it's all right if you didn't think it was nice," Haley said.

Peyton turned around in her seat and gave Nathan an incredulous look. "That thing was a nightmare."

"True but Haley always looks hot," Nathan said.

"I don't look so hot when I'm sick," Haley pointed out.

"Yes, you do," Nathan argued.

Chris laughed from the driver's seat. "No, she doesn't. Trust me. Her eyes get all puffy and her entire face goes pasty and pale. It's not a pretty sight. I would take a picture so you could see her but the camera lens would probably break."

"Thanks a lot, _friend_," Haley grumbled.

"I was just agreeing with you, Hales," Chris pointed out.

"All you had to say was that I didn't look good. You didn't have to go into details. I'd rather you didn't scare my boyfriend away," Haley said.

"Nothing could scare me away," Nathan said.

"You haven't met her parents have you?" Chris asked.

Haley glared at him. "Shut up, Chris."

"She's met Dan and she's got with me," Nathan pointed out.

"He's got a point there, Chris," Peyton said, nodding. "Dan makes her parents look like Annie and Eric Camden."

"Hales, are any of your brothers and sisters coming?" Chris asked.

Haley's eyes darkened as she shook her head. "No."

"Gretchen certainly isn't," Nathan added.

Chris scoffed. "She better not show her face around here."

"They're mad at me," Haley confessed.

"What?" Peyton asked.

"After the fight I had with Gretchen, she called everyone up and said that I resented all of them for leaving home to have their own lives and leaving me all alone so now they think I'm a whiny little brat," Haley said.

"They're boycotting your graduation because you blew up at Gretchen?" Chris asked incredulously.

"Yes," Haley replied.

"That's pathetic. You went to all of their graduations," Chris said.

Haley scoffed. "According to them, I was too young to be left at home."

"You were sixteen when Taylor graduated," Peyton argued.

"Oh, haven't you heard? Taylor's the only one I've ever cared about!" Haley exclaimed.

"I wonder why seeing as how she's the only one who bothers to call or write you," Nathan said.

"Taylor's not coming?" Chris asked, sounding shocked.

"She's in Mexico right now," Haley explained.

"Oh, well being in jail is actually an acceptable excuse," Peyton said, smiling at Haley in the side mirror.

"She's not in jail," Haley said.

"She made bail?" Peyton joked.

"She's been in jail once and the drugs belonged to her friend, not her," Haley explained.

"You are so gullible, Hales. The pot was hers," Peyton said.

"No, it wasn't," Haley argued.

"How can you say that? We were there when she bought it!" Peyton exclaimed.

"She bought it for a friend," Haley said.

"It's been four years and she's still saying that," Chris joked.

"I promised Taylor our parents would never find out the truth," Haley reminded them.

"You don't have to cover for her when they're not even here," Peyton said.

"If I don't maintain the same story, I could slip-up around them. The story always comes up during Christmas. My parents love to tell it because I threw a fit on one of the officers because I was going to miss my exam while they were processing my sister," Haley said.

"That was hilarious," Peyton mused.

"You really are a nerd," Chris said.

--

"Congratulations to the Class of 2007," the principal said as the senior class started to depart the auditorium.

"Can you believe that we're finally finished?" Peyton asked Chris as they handed their gowns back.

"Yes, I can and not a moment too soon," Chris replied.

Peyton rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's lack of sentiment. "We're never coming back here again, Chris," she reminded him.

"And that's a bad thing because?" he asked.

"It's just sad that it's over. Isn't it?" Peyton said.

"No more detentions and no more stuck-up teachers that think wearing a band shirt is a sign that you're mass murderer. I'm going to one of the top music schools in the state and I'll have the girl I love there with me every step of the way," Chris said.

Peyton stopped dead in her tracks and looked at him.

"I mean, what's there to be sad about?" he continued and realized she had stopped walking. He turned around and looked at her. "What?"

"You are the best boyfriend ever," Peyton exclaimed as she threw her arms around him.

"Saint Haley!" A female voice called through the crowd.

"Who the hell?" Nathan asked as he began searching for the person who was calling his girlfriend angrily. The voice was dripping with sarcasm.

He turned to Haley, expecting to see her eyes burning with anger but they were alive with excitement as she began searching for the crowd.

"There you are!" A young woman exclaimed happily.

Haley threw her arms around her big sister. "Taylor, you came!"

"Well, of course I came, kiddo. I wouldn't miss your graduation," Taylor said happily.

Nathan's anger melted away when he remembered that Saint Haley was one of Taylor's nicknames for Haley.

"This is my boyfriend, Nathan," Haley said as she pulled Taylor along with her.

Taylor looked at Nathan and smiled. "You sure didn't mess around, Hales," she said.

Nathan laughed. "Nice to meet you," he said.

"You too," Taylor said, shaking his hand.

"Mom and Dad?" Haley asked.

"They're talking to Chris' parents," Taylor replied.

"My parents are here?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, they were sitting next to us," Taylor said.

"Sorry," he apologized, knowing his parents were probably squabbling the entire time.

"Don't be. It was actually interesting. Certainly a lot more entertaining than this snore fest," Taylor said.

"Hey!" All four of them exclaimed.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Please. I get that it's a huge day for you guys but it's incredibly boring if you're not a graduate or a parent."

"She's right," Haley agreed, remembering how bored she was when she had to sit through her siblings' graduations.

"Hales and I each had to sit through seven of these things now so we know what we're talking about," Taylor said when she noticed Chris was about to argue.

--

"I don't think I want to go home," Nathan admitted later on that night. The two of them had gone over to Haley's house to celebrate after dinner with Lydia, Jimmy and Taylor James. They were curled up together on her bed, watching the end of the last episode of _Friends_ on DVD.

"Then don't," Haley said.

He looked down at her, studying her with caution. "Are you sure?"

Haley chuckled. "It's not like you've never slept here before."

"Yeah, but your parents are here now," he pointed out.

"They're in town, Nathan, not in the house," Haley said.

"It is their house and they're going to come home eventually," he said.

"What are they going to do, ground me?" she asked, not perturbed in the least.

"They might," he replied.

"No, they won't. It's pointless because you and I will be living together in less than two weeks," Haley said, referring to their plans of moving in together. They had decided to do it before college started so they'd be used to it by the time classes came around.

He looked at her in surprise and realized she was grinning at him. "They said yes?"

"They sure did," she replied.

"Yes!" He exclaimed, hugging her to him. "Oh, I love you, Hales."

"I've loved you since the first time I saw you," she admitted.

"You mean the time Peyton kissed Chris in the middle of the hallway when the two of you came back from the tour?" Nathan asked.

"That wasn't the first time we met, Nathan," Haley said.

Confusion clouded his eyes. "It wasn't?"

"We met when we were five years old," she said.

"Oh, really? I think I would've remembered meeting you, Hales," he said.

"It's difficult for me to remember everything that happened when I was ten," Haley said.

"Well, then how do you know we met when we were five?" he asked.

Haley rummaged through one the boxes on her desk and grabbed out a pile of photographs. She flipped through them and when she found the one she was looking for, she put it on the desk facedown. She put the stack of photos back down and grabbed the one that she was looking for and came over.

"Because of this," she said, turning the picture around to show him.

Nathan grabbed it from her and his eyes widened in shock at what he saw. It was a picture taken of Nathan when he was five at the park, building yet another sandcastle with the girl he had met right before he moved away. He studied the girl's face and could see some qualities that were definitely Haley. He looked up at the Haley that was sitting beside him and shook his head. "Where did you get this?"

"Taylor was obsessed with taking pictures when she was ten. She carried a Polaroid camera everywhere she went. She came with me that day to the park so I could play in the sand and she could capture some 'candid moments' for my mom," Haley began to explain.

"Your sister took this picture?" he asked.

"Yeah and she teased me about you for years but you were known as my first crush since she never knew your name and I sure as hell never told her," she said.

"Why didn't you ever tell me about this?" he asked.

"I didn't remember it until Peyton and I were looking through photos for graduation. She found that and pointed it out to me," Haley said.

"Peyton found it?" He asked.

"Yeah and she flipped out, gushing about how we cute we look together and how I wound up with my first crush," Haley said, laughing at the wide-eyed look Peyton had.

"Wow," Nathan said.

"What?" Haley asked.

"I had a crush on you too," he admitted.

Haley's eyes widened with wonder. "You had good taste," she said with a smirk.

"That sounds like something I would say," he said, grinning.

"You've rubbed off on me," she said, pulling him to her for a kiss.

THE END


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